THE NEXT GENERATION
by jawzzbubblez
Summary: Jane Dursely gets accepted to hogwarts in the same year as Lily Potter.


THE NEXT GENERATION: HOGWARTS

BY: KASSIA SKORZEWSKA

CHAPTER 1

A Dursley Witch at Hogwarts

"Dad, dad!" yelled Jane Dursley to her father.

"What is it Jane?" growled her father Dudley.

"I got a letter, look!" exclaimed Jane.

Dudley Dursley took the letter from his daughter, Jane, and at once gasped in shock. His daughter had got a letter from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Dudley opened the letter and began to read aloud:

To: Ms. Jane Dursley

The Small Bedroom Upstairs

4 Privet Drive

Little Whinging

SURREY

Dear Ms. Dursley,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Students shall be required to report to the Chamber of Reception upon arrival, the dates for which shall be duly advised.

Please ensure that the utmost attention be made to the list of requirements attached herewith

We very much look forward to receiving you as part of the new generation of Hogwarts' heritage.

Yours Sincerely,

Professor Longbottom

HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT & WIZARDRY

Headmistress: Minerva Mcgonagall, D. WIZ., X.J. (Sorc) mag.Q

By the time Dudley Dursley finished reading the letter he was very red in the face.

"I shall be speaking about this to Harry when he gets here. Now, Jane, Michael, Hannah, go upstairs and get dressed into your nicest clothes for when the Potters' get here."

(Ding-a-ling-ling) "Honey, the Potters' are here!" shouted Mrs. Dursley as she went to get the door. While walking to the door, Mrs. Dursley heard Mr. Dursley make a grunt that vaguely sounded like "Okay."

Mrs. Dursley opened the door and, standing on the doorstep, were Harry and Ginny Potter with their children, James, Albus, and Lily. All three children were at Hogwarts in different years. James was 17 in his 7th year, Albus was 13 in his 3rd year, and Lily was 10 going into her 1st year.

"Harry, it's so good to see you! May I have a word with you alone?" asked Mr. Dursley.

"Sure, kids, why don't you go play with Jane, Michael, and Hannah?"

While the kids ran off to play and Mrs. Dursley and Ginny Potter went into the kitchen, Harry and Dudley went into the living room to talk.

"So, proclaimed Dudley, this letter form Hogwarts came for Jane today."

"Oh! Exclaimed Harry, rather surprised. "I didn't know she would be accepted.

"You know Harry, I was jealous of you back when we were kids, you going to Hogwarts and everything."

"Oh, well, I thought you hated me," admitted Harry.

"Well, said Dudley, I pretended I hated you because of mom and dad, but secretly I liked you and was jealous of you."

"Well, said Harry rather shocked, "thanks Big D. I think you should let Jane go to Hogwarts, it's a wonderful school and the kids love it."

"In Diagon Alley. We're going there tomorrow. You can come with us." Harry told Dudley.

"Okay, we'll make it a family trip. Now let's go see what the ladies are making for dinner," said Dudley.

"Ginny, I don't know how you do it. Being a witch, having three kids who are all magic, and keeping your job. You must have a secret." Gushed Mrs. Dursley.

"Oh, I have my ways," replied Ginny Potter.

Just when Mrs. Dursley was about to say something to Ginny, the door burst open and there standing in the doorway, were Dudley and Harry, both looking red in the face.

"What's for dinner darling diddykums," asked Dudley, to his wife, rather cheerfully.

"Steak, Kidney Pie, Yorkshire Pudding, Roast Potatoes, and Steamed Broccoli," replied his wife.

"And for dessert, my famous apple pie," added Ginny, catching Harry's eye and winking.

After dinner was finished, the kitchen was clean, and the kids had went upstairs to play, the adults all sat down in the living room to talk.

"So, it's all settled then, we're going to London with the Potter's tomorrow to get Jane's school supplies, love," said Dudley.

"Oh that's great Duddykins," replied Mrs. Dursley.

At the sound of this nickname Harry and Ginny exchanged a look and tried not to laugh.

"Now, Harry, said Dudley. For sleeping arrangements you and Ginny can have the guest bedroom upstairs and the kids can sleep in the girls' room."

"Thank you, Dudley, you don't know how very thankful me and Ginny are to you," replied Harry.

"Oh, don't bother thanking us, you're helping us get Jane's supplies, so we're even," said Dudley.

As the night progressed, Dudley had drunk so much wine that he was drunk.

"Darling diddykums can you go check on the little wee kiddies?" Asked Dudley, looking at Ginny.

Ginny, looking rather embarrassed, turned as red as her hair and turned to look at Mrs. Dursley to see what her reaction had been. Thankfully Mrs. Dursley was in a conversation with Harry and hadn't heard a word of what Dudley had said.

"Certainly," replied Ginny, to a rather purple faced drunk Dudley.

Upstairs in the kids' room, Jane and Hannah were asleep on their bunk bed, Michael was asleep in his bed, James was asleep on a roll-out cot, Albus was asleep and snoring gently, on a mattress, and Lily was asleep, sprawled out on a mattress, with her mouth open and clutching her teddy. Ginny lingered in the doorway a few more minutes, watching her baby girl sleep, before going back downstairs.

The next morning after everything was packed in the two cars, including the kids and wives, Harry who was holding Lily in his arms, was giving last minute directions to Dudley.

"…And if you lose sight of us take the bridge to Knightdale Street and park in front of the Angel Coffee Shop."

And with that, Harry turned around, got into his car, and started driving.

"Dad, where are we going to get all this stuff?" asked Jane.

Mrs. Dursley took the letter and began reading aloud from the list of school supplies:

UNIFORM:

First year students will require:

- Three sets of plain work robes (black)

- One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear

- One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)

- One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)

Please note that all student clothes should carry name tags

COURSE BOOKS:

All students should have a copy of each of the following

The Standard Book of Spells (grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk

A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot

Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling

A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch

One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore

Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander

The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection

OTHER EQUIPMENT:

1 wand

1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)

1 set glass or crystal phials

1 telescope

1 set brass scales

Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad

PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS

Once Mrs. Dursley was finished reading the letter, she was extremely red in the face.

"Where are we going to get all this stuff?" she asked.

"Harry is going to show us where to get all the stuff," replied Dudley.

Chapter 2: Flowers, Hats, and Blood

The next day at the train station, Jane boarded the train to Hogwarts with the Potter's as her family waved goodbye to her. She was going to Hogwarts.

Jane Dursley looked out her compartment window as the scenery zipped by. She looked back into the compartment at her companions. She was sitting with her friends and family. Lily Potter was sitting across from her, also at the window. Lily's brother Albus was reading the Dailey Prophet. James left the room to hang out with his cousin Fred Weasley. Rose and Hugo were playing some cards. They were joined by another Weasley, Kay. He was the son of Lily's uncle Percy Weasley and Penelope Clearwater. He was in James' year, the fourth year. Out of the family, from what Jane had been told, Rose and her cousin Kay broke tradition.

"So, what's the Ravenclaw House like?" Jane asked the two.

"Well," Kay said, adjusting his horn-rimmed glasses, "To get in, you must answer a question. We strive to use our minds over other parts. Usually, people from our house get top scores on tests."

"Except for my mom," Rose said, "I guess she had more bravery than mind, which considering her grades, is saying something. But we have a statue of the foundress of our house, Rowena Ravenclaw."

"Talking about your house?" came a female voice from the door.

"Yes," Kay said. Jane looked and saw two more red-heads standing there, a boy and girl, appearing the same age. The girl looked at Jane.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"I'm Jane Dursley," Jane said, "Are you two Weasleys?"

"No," the boy said, "Actually, we just come over their place for dinner and dye our hair red to hide."

"We're actually run away clowns from a traveling French Circus," the girl said. Jane was taken back.

"Don't mind them," Albus said, "They are Rae and Ray Weasley, Uncle George's other children. They are in Kay's year." Rae and Ray smiled identical smiles and came into the compartment.

"Are the munchkins bothering you guys?" came the voice of an older boy, who also donned the red hair and a pin on his chest: It had a "P" on it.

"Yes," came in unison of the compartment save Jane.

"Fred, You're no fun," Rae said.

"I have fun," Fred said, patting her on the back, "But unlike you sis, I'm not annoying." Ray looked on his sister's back.

"Nothing's there," he said. He looked at his brother. "I still can't believe you got to be a Prefect, Fred," he said to his brother, "Dad was crying, remember?"

"Though it could of been either from laughing too much or he was really sad his son became one of you," Rae said.

"Well, someone has to be able to out think you two," Fred said, "I know you two aim to beat Dad and Uncle Fred's troublemaker drawer in size." Rae and Ray smiled at this.

"To beat them and Uncle Harry's father and Godfather's drawer as well," Rae said.

"Now, we have to be off," Ray said, "Adam is waiting back in our compartment." Both got up and Jane noticed a sign appeared on Rae's back which said, "Jinx me!"

"What was that?" Jane asked.

"Dad heard about the Muggle prank of putting a 'Kick Me' sign on a kid's back. So he and Mr. Jordan, Adam's father, made ones for us, but these become vanished when ﬁrst applied and reappear after a minute," Fred said before looking at Jane. "You were the girl that woman said she'd buy the curse book for to use on your brother, right?" he asked Jane.

"Yes, how did you know that?" Jane asked.

"The munchkins and I help dad by being stock boys and girl at his shop, I saw that scene," Fred said, "Well, I'm off."

"To see your girlfriend?" Lily asked.

"Katherine is just a really good friend," Fred said, with a little blush. He left.

"Who's Katherine?" Jane asked.

"Adam Jordan's elder sister. She and Fred are sixth years," Kay said.

"I think Lee, their father, was one of Uncle George's best friends at school, and their mother, Katie, was on the Quidditch team with Uncles Fred and George, and dad," Albus said.

"Do you know if they'll have a D.A. again this year?" Hugo asked.

"D.A.?" Jane asked.

"It means 'Dumbledore's Army'," Albus said, "It was named from my namesake's last name. When our parents were at school, there was a really bad, evil professor, who was trying to make them not use magic. So, dad, mum, Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione started up a group to teach the other students Defense Against the Dark Arts spells. Now a days, it is run by Professor Longbottom, who was also an original member, and is the school dueling club. You have to wait until your second term to join."

"Sometimes they have original members come in and duel," Rose said, "I still recall mum's face when Mrs. Scamander beat her in a duel." All but Jane laughed.

"Who's she?" Jane asked.

"An old school friend of our parents," Lily said, "She's kind of like the opposite of Rose and Hugo's mum, who wants fact to prove something. Mrs. Scamander and her daughter Themis are willing to accept things on faith alone." Jane laughed at this thought, then noticed a pale faced boy watching through the window.

"Who's that?" Jane asked. The others looked as well.

"Scorpius Malfoy," Albus said, "My year. He's in Slytherin. His mum and dad was a member of Voldemort's forces, but in the end, they helped our side, and they weren't punished." At this, Scorpius opened the door.

"Have a nice summer?" he asked Albus directly, ignoring everyone else.

"Good," Albus said, "Get the new racing broom?"

"Of course," Scorpius said, "Good luck then."

"You too," Albus said, and Scorpius left. Jane looked perplexed.

"Are you two friends?" Jane asked.

"I don't know how to characterize what we are," Albus said, "We aren't close friends, but we don't hate each other."

"They have a friendly rivalry that allows for them to show respect and kindness to the other without too much embarrassment, as both are good players on their Quidditch teams," Kay said picking up the Dailey Prophet.

"You play Quidditch?" Jane asked.

"Yeah, I play Keeper for Gryfﬁndors. Scorpius plays Chaser, so we have a rivalry on how many goals he can get in," Albus said. After that conversation, they started playing some exploding snap. Jane kept laughing when her cards exploded. Kay, as Jane found out in a bad way, had a poker face better than the Queen's Guard. Thankfully, he was kind enough to give back his winnings to his family and Jane.

"Should have brought a chess set," Rose said, glaring at her cousin. Kay smiled.

"I'm smart enough to know not to play you in chess," Kay said, "You deﬁnitely got the Weasley skills for that area."

"Thank you," Rose said, "I also got my mother's ability to listen to Professor Binns." The others chuckled.

"Who?" Jane asked.

"The Professor of History of Magic," Kay said, "He's a ghost teacher. He just drones on and on. Even the Ravenclaws have a hard time staying awake."

"So, is there a chess club at school?" Jane asked.

"Yes, and I'm the Captain," Rose said.

"She's also only been beaten by Themis at school, ironically," Albus said, "And the adult Weasley members, like her father, granddad Weasley, and Kay's father."

"And grandpa Granger," Hugo said, "Once he got used to the chess pieces moving on their own power, and talking back."

"The pieces talk back?" Jane asked, "Cool." She was so excited about what she had learned these past few hours. As she looked at some of her chocolate frog cards, whose residents had gone missing, she still couldn't believe it. Here she was on her way to a school for those with magical powers. She had made so many new friends, it was unbelievable.

"So, Rose, Alb, excited about going to Hogsmeade?" Kay asked.

"Yeah," Rose said, "I want to see the Hogsmeade branch of Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes. It's supposed to have stuff more for the students, and easier to get too without your parents around."

"Same thing," Albus said. Jane, Lily, and Hugo looked at them with slight envy. Lily looked out the window.

"Hey, that's it, right?" she exclaimed. Everyone turned to the window.

"Yes," Rose said. Jane looked on with excitement, soon she'd be inside that place she only heard tell about. "We better get our robes on," Rose said. And the six of them got dressed. Slowly the train came to a stop. And the hallway got crowded. "Leave your luggage," Rose said to Jane, "It'll get up to your dorm on separately." Jane put her trunk down and followed Lily and Hugo out. The trio was squished together, and ﬁnally, they got out of the train.

A loud booming voice echoed over the hustle of the arriving students, "Firs' years! Firs' years this way." Jane looked and saw a giant of a man.

"Who's that?" Jane asked.

"That's Hagrid," Lily said, "An old friend of my dad's." They got to the front of the group of ﬁrst years.

"Hello Lily," Hagrid said, "Who's your friend?"

"I'm Jane Dursley," Jane said. Hagrid shook his head quickly and turned away, calling for the rest of the ﬁrst years.

"Now, follow me!" Hagrid called, leading they way with his lamp. Soon the group was stumbling through a dark forest on a narrow path.

"You'll be gettin' yer ﬁrs sight o' Hogwarts," Hagrid called over his shoulder, "jus' round this bend here."

There were collectives of "Oooohs" and "Wows."

Jane watched as the stars shown above a magniﬁcent castle with many towers and turrets. It was perched high upon a mountain, between it and them, a great black lake.

"No more' n four to a boat," Hagrid called. Jane, Lily, Hugo, and a boy who was smaller than Jane, and a head of mousy hair climbed into one.

"Everyone in? Right then — FORWARD!" Hagrid bellowed and the boats started up.

"My dad told me he fell into the lake when he rode across," the mousey boy said, "I'm Sam Creevey."

"I'm Jane Dursley," Jane said.

"Hugo Weasley," Hugo said shaking Sam's hand.

"Lily Potter," Lily said, Sam's eyes went wide.

"Your dad is the Harry Potter?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, until one of his children names a child after him," Lily said.

"Why do you say 'the Harry Potter'?" Jane asked. Lily and Hugo were also curious about this.

"You don't know?" Sam asked. All shook their heads. "Well, he's the one who. . ." But just then Hagrid yelled to the group.

"Heads down!" he called as the ﬁrst boats passed through a curtain of ivory that hid an opening. They went through a dark tunnel. This caused an increase in anticipation, causing Sam to forget what he was about to say. Finally they reached an underground harbor. Everyone clambered out when they reached the shore. Then they climbed up a passageway, Hagrid still leading. They came out on to smooth grass, in the shadow of the castle. Hagrid walked up the steps to the castle's main doors and knocked three times.

The great doors swung open and there stood a round faced man. The look on his face was something peculiar. Though you could tell by his eyes, he was kind-he had pale skin and his face had just visible scars made it clear, he was not one to be trifled with.

"Here are the firs' years, Professor Longbottom," Hagrid said.

"I'll take them now Hagrid," Professor Longbottom said. He led them into the entrance hall.

"You could fit my house in here," Jane murmured, noting the huge side. They just walked by four great hourglasses. Above the hourglasses, and on both sides of the hourglasses, many black flowers painted on the wall, each one was about a foot long and were grouped in groups of five. Above them were the words in gold:

"_For each flower upon this wall, remembers a warrior who did fall in this school's darkest hour fighting a malevolent power._

_Please do not weep in sorrow, for they died the chance for happier tomorrow."_

Jane didn't understand what they meant, but continued on with the group. Others who saw the memorial bowed their heads, Sam Creevey, shed some silent tears. As they continued, Jane noted that they didn't enter through another set of doors, which sounded where the rest of the students were, but through another set, into an empty room which the students became very cramped in. When Neville reached another door, he turned around, his stern look remained.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," he said, "The start-of-term banquet will start momentarily. But before we can begin, you must be sorted into your houses. This is important, because, while you are here, your house will be like a family. You will eat together, sleep in the house dormitories, and take classes together. There are four houses. They are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each one has its own noble history and created many outstanding wizards and witches. While you are here, good behaviour will earn you points, any rule breaking will lose them. At the end of the year, the house with the most points will win the house cup. I'm sure each of you will do brave things for your house. "

"The sorting ceremony will begin in a few minutes in front of the entire school. I'd advise you to tidy yourselves up. You only get one chance to make a good first impression.

Jane looked at Lily. "So all we do is put a hat on?" Jane asked.

"Yes," Lily said. Jane felt relieved, but jumped when someone screamed from behind her. Jane looked up and saw twenty pearly-white ghosts streaming through the wall.

"Peeves is behaving better than last year," said a fat little monk.

"That's because Professor Flitwick allowed him to visit that toad-woman during the summer. He gets to release a great deal of energy doing- who are you?"

A ghost wearing ruff and tights just noticed the students.

"They look like this year's first years," said a pale, beautiful lady in a dress.

"I hope you're in my house," the Fat Friar said, "I was a Hufflepuff." And the ghosts continued on their way into the hall. Just as they left, Neville returned holding a scroll.

"Form a line and follow me," he said.

As Jane entered the Great Hall, she thought she'd explode from excitement. There were thousands of candles floating in midair, the ceiling looked as though they were outside. All there was, was a hole showing the starry sky above. She heard Hugo behind her note, "It's bewitched to look like the night sky. Mom told me she read it in "_Hogwarts a History." _Before them was a stool with an old hat upon it. Behind the stool, was the staff table. Jane saw Hagrid there, and only one vacant seat. The entire room was quiet and sat staring at the hat. Suddenly, a seam opened, like a wide mouth – It started to sing:

"_All students once, both old and new_

_Good evening to you watching me,_

_Come place me on your head now,_

_And I'll tell you where you ought to be._

_A thousand years have come, _

_Since from my very humble start._

_Now I must decide where you're to dwell:_

_With the cunning, brave, pure, or smart_

_With Slytherin, those clothed in green,_

_Hold great ambition and cunning, you'll see_

_While the Gryffindors, clothed of red_

_When faced with great danger, they will not flee_

_Then the Hufflepuffs, clothed of yellow, _

_Out of all, they'll accept anyone_

_And last is the Ravenclaws, clad in blue,_

_Who use their minds to ensure they've won_

_Each house is aged and old_

_And one that will be perfect for you_

_Now come and place me on your head_

_And remember, what I say is true._

The entire audience was clapping for the hat, who in turn gave a bow to each table.

Neville stepped forward with a roll of parchment. "When I call your name, please come forward," he said. Neville went down the names, and the hat called out the houses and the respective table cheered.

"Creevey, Samuel," Neville called. Sam walked up and sat down.

The hat barely touched his head before crying, "GRYFFINDOR!" the Gryffindor table cheered. Neville gave Sam a quick smile, remembering his uncle all too well. Neville continued calling out names.

"Dursley, Jane," Neville called. Jane started out slowly. Lily gave her a push.

"Go on, you'll be fine," Lily whispered. Jane finally made it to the stool. Neville placed it on her head. When he did, Jane heard a quiet whisper in her ear.

"Hmm. Very difficult," the Hat said, "Plenty of courage, kindness for those you don't know, and a good mind. And a desire to prove yourself. But where to put you.

"I just want to go where I fit in best, where I can make more friends," Jane thought, "Somewhere like that."

"Interesting, friends you want? You strive for friends? Well, then it better be," the whisper said, "Slytherin!" Jane felt the hat come off, and saw her table cheering. As she passed the remaining first years, Lily and Hugo stared at her dumbfounded. When she got to the Gryffindors, James and Albus had similar looks to their sister. When she got to the Ravenclaws, Kay and Rose looked like they had been hit on the head with an iron pan. Jane slowly made her way to the table and ended up sitting next to Scorpius Malfoy.

"Welcome," he said to Jane, holding out his hand. Jane shook the sixth year's hand.

"Thanks," Jane said sitting down. Neville continued down the list of names.

"Didn't I see you in Potter's compartment?" Scorpius asked.

"Yes," Jane said, "We're cousins."

"Well, most wizarding families are," Scorpius noted, "Even the distant ones."

"But I meant through my father, he's a muggle. He's Albus and Lily's father's cousin. My mom is also a muggle," Jane said. Those listening to them were as shocked as Scorpius.

"You're a muggle-born?" he asked.

"Is there a problem with that?" Jane asked. Scorpius was about to answer, when Neville called another name.

"Potter, Lily," he called. Jane turned away from Scorpius and watched carefully as the hat was placed on her friend's head.

"Gryffindor!" the hat called after a few seconds. Jane gave a sigh, before looking at Scorpius.

"You were saying?" she asked. But Scorpius hadn't said anything. He was still caught up on a muggle-born being a Slytherin and just happened to sit next to one. He was raised to know that, though muggle-borns were wizards and witches, he was just better than them. Though, most of them came from his mother and her side of the family, Grandpa Parkinson held onto what his father called, the old ideas. His father was slightly more accepting of them. He wasn't friends with any of them, but he also wasn't rude or ignorant to them. His father coined it as a "Live and let live" policy.

"No," Scorpius said, "There isn't. It's just rare when a muggle-born becomes a Slytherin."

"Why?" she asked, "Isn't this the house of cunning and ambition?"

"Yes, but it wasn't always," Scorpius said, "It had a bad reputation for a long time, since many Dark Wizards came from this house." Scorpius thought how his father's side was filled with that kind of wizard. Due to his mixed upbringing, he strived to grow up different, it was his ambition to become different, and that ambition was the same house.

Neville finished calling the names and started rolling up the parchment as Hugo Weasley became a Hufflepuff, Alice Zabini, Darcy Goyle, and Lyra Malfoy all became Slytherins, Maura Potter became a Gryffindor, Valerie Weasley became a Ravenclaw, and Belladonna Wood became a Hufflepuff.

Alice Zabini sat down at Scorpius's other side.

"Hi Scorpius, have a nice summer?" Jane overheard Alice ask.

"All right," Scorpius said, finding himself in an uncomfortable position. Scorpius was saved when Professor Flitwick spoke.

"Welcome to another year at Hogwarts," he said standing on his chair, "Before we start our feast, I wish to say some very important words. The Treacle Tart is magnificent this year, I'd advise you to try some."

"Now, let's begin." Many students laughed and clapped at his comment as the food rose up onto the plates before them.

"Wow," Jane said, taking in the variety and sheer quantity of the food before them. She started by piling her plate with roast beef, with fries and peppermint humbugs.

"So, what's your ancestry Jane?" Alice asked.

"Ancestry?" Jane asked.

"Well, it was called 'blood-purity' before," said a girl named Darcy Goyle, who came down from one end of the table. She had a gaunt face and sat across from them. "Everyone remembers those good years when your blood decided what class of wizard you were." Alice nodded in agreement. Scorpius shifted uncomfortably.

"Oh, that," Jane said coolly, "I'm muggle-born." Alice and Darcy choked on the food they were eating.

"You're a muggle-born?" Alice asked, surprised.

"Why are you in this house?" Darcy demanded, as if she had just insulted her parents.

"Well," Jane started.

"Alice, Darcy, what qualities did the sorting claim were part of this house?" Scorpius asked the two first years. His tone made it clear he didn't favor their prejudice.

"Cunning and ambition," Darcy replied, slightly taken back at Scorpius's defending this muggle-born.

"So you're saying that muggle-borns can't have either?" Scorpius asked calmly. Darcy and Alice looked at each other over the food.

"So you're protecting her?" Alice asked with a sneer.

"No," Scorpius said, "I'm defending you two."

"What do you mean by that?" Darcy asked.

"By your views, you are a great deal better than witches born like Jane, yes?" Scorpius asked, "So, answer this, which is worse, being beaten by I did you by me or Jane?" Darcy and Alice turned red very quickly, realizing he had gotten them twice. They didn't say anything after that, just shooting looks at Scorpius and Jane. Jane smiled into her goblet, so the girls couldn't see. She couldn't wait to write home about this.

Soon dinner became dessert and Jane decided to try Professor Flitwick's advice. Scorpius remained quiet since his intervention. He seemed to be debating something in thought.

"Hey Scorpius," Jane said finally. He, Alice, and Darcy looked up. "I was told, when we get to our third year, you can pick alternative classes. Which ones did you pick in your third year?" looking somewhat relieved, he hadn't expected Jane to ask him about that, let alone know about it. But thinking back to the company she kept before, it made sense she would know bits and pieces.

"Well," Scorpius started, Alice and Darcy also listened, "I took Muggle Studies, Care of Magical Creatures, despite father's warning, and Arithmancy."

"What's wrong with Care of Magical Creatures?" asked Jane.

"The professor," Scorpius said, "Hagrid sometimes forgets things aren't as dangerous to him as they are to us."

"Was he the giant guy who brought me across the lake?" Jane asked.

"That's the oaf," Darcy said. Jane ignored Darcy's insult.

"They sound interesting," Jane mused, "Which one did you like best Scorpius?"

Scorpius seemed to think for a minute. "Arithmancy," he said, "It's a challenge and I always like a challenge." Jane nodded and noticed the chatter die down. The desserts vanished and Professor Flitwick stood up.

"Well, now that our feast has filled us up, I have some announcements to make," Flitwick said, "First to our first years, the Dark Forest is strictly out-of-bounds. Mr. Filch, our caretaker has added several of the latest joke items on sale from Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes to the banned item list. If you desire, you may see the entire list, containing I believe five hundred thirty seven items now. And Quidditch trials will begin next week to those in second year and above. Contact your house head for more information. Now I wish you all a good night sleep." Jane turned to talk to Scorpius, but he had left the table. She continued to look for him, but was distracted by a call for Slytherin first years.

"Slytherin first years, this way," called a female Slytherin prefect. Jane got up and followed her classmates. They turned down a long corridor leading to deep dungeons. " This is the quickest way to the common room," exclaimed the prefect. Eventually she said, "Here we are." Jane looked and stared at a blank wall. "The current password is 'Basilisk.' The door opened and Jane entered. She looked at the low ceiling, with many green clad lamps and chairs. On her left, was an announcement board.

"All right, Boys' dormitories are on the right. Girls' dormitories are on the left. Jane followed Darcy and Alice up the stairs and entered the room. There were five beds stationed around the room in a semi-circle, with a heater in the middle. The beds had green and silver laced curtains and velvet like blankets. Jane sat down on her bed and smiled.

"Just because we share the same house, don't expect to become friends with anyone," Darcy commented before closing her curtains.

"Yeah," Alice said. Alice also closed her curtains.

"Like I care about you two," Jane thought as she lay on her bed. She soon fell asleep, dreaming about trains, snakes, lions, weasels, hats, and scales.

Chapter 3: Flint, Flowers, and First Impressions

Jane woke up the following morning. She looked around her candle lit dorm room. She was about to say morning to her roommates, but they left quickly. Jane shrugged and got dressed. She packed her bag with each book, some parchment, some ink and her cauldron, just in case. As she walked through the common room, she felt many eyes watching her.

"Did the news of me being Muggle-born spread this fast?" she thought. She left the room and was walking to the Great Hall. As she was walking, she came across another Slytherin ﬁrst year.

"Hi," she called to the boy. He slowed and turned and waited for Jane. "I'm Jane," Jane said.

"Oh, you're the one the rumors were about," the boy said. As Jane stood next to him, she noted he was tall for such a young age, about a head taller than Jane. He had short black hair, and brown eyes. He started walking and Jane walked next to him.

"Which ones?" Jane asked.

"The ones about a Muggle-born being in the house that once hated people like you," the boy said, "I'm Robert by the way, Robert Flint."

"It's nice meeting you Robert, you don't mind talking to me?" Jane asked.

"No," Robert said, "You seem interesting. I like examining things I ﬁnd interesting."

"Examine how?" Jane asked.

"Well, take things apart for objects, and talking with people," Robert said.

"Okay, so what's your family like?" Jane asked.

"I'm an only child. My dad was in Slytherin when he was here. But besides that, I don't know too much about him. My parents became separated when I was young," Robert said, "Mom doesn't talk about him much. Just says he wasn't mature enough for a child."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Jane said, "Is your surname his?" Robert nodded but remained quiet for the rest of the walk.

They made it to the Great Hall and found seats. Robert noticed Alice and Darcy staring at them.

"I take it; they don't like you. Do you like them?" Robert asked.

"I don't know them well enough to like or dislike," Jane said as she poured herself some cereal and milk. They talked some more over breakfast when the head of their house, the Potions master Professor Skylar handing out their schedules..

"Here are your class schedules," Professor Skylar said before she handed Jane and Robert their schedules.

"Looks like we've got Herbology in the morning with Gryfﬁndors and Potions in the afternoon with Hufﬂepuffs," Jane said.

"I wonder what Professor Skylar is like in Potions," Robert said as she walked away, "I did hear Professor Longbottom can either be your best friend or your worst enemy."

"Then tomorrow we have double sessions of History of Magic in the morning, and in the afternoon, Defense Against the Dark Arts with Professor Hollis," Jane continued.

"Wednesdays look light with Astronomy, with Professor Vega," Jane said, "At nine in the morning and at twelve at night. And Herbology is at two."

"And on Thursdays, we've got Herbology in the morning and Transﬁguration with Professor Solon in the afternoon," Robert said.

"Ending with Charms with Professor Meriwether on Friday mornings and nothing in the afternoon," Robert said. He checked his watch. "We better move if we want to make it to Herbology."

"All right," Jane said getting up. The pair walked together with the four other Slytherin boys, Robert's roommates. As they walked, they gave Jane a slight cold shoulder.

"Just keep smiling Jane," Jane thought to herself, "You can do this." They made it to the greenhouses. There were some Gryfﬁndors ahead of them. Jane saw them whisper to each other, and then saw Lily's red hair. As the groups got together, Jane approached Lily. Some on both sides watched with interest, Robert was among them.

"Hi," she said. Lily turned around and smiled seeing Jane.

"Hey Jane, are you all right?" Lily asked.

"Why do you ask?" Jane asked.

"Since that house isn't known for its kindness to Muggle-borns," Lily said.

"Oh, well my roommates are giving me the cold shoulder. It does seem I've made another friend," Jane said. She pointed Robert out, which was easy as he was a head over the rest of the group, Gryfﬁndors and Slytherins.

Suddenly the door opened and Neville Longbottom stood there. "Good morning class," Neville said, "Please come inside." The groups went in. "Separate into either groups of four, three, or two," Neville continued. As this was said, some chaos ensued from the old prejudices: Not many wanted to sit with the other house. But luckily, Jane and Lily sat together. Sam quickly joined them and Robert as well. Robert towered over Sam, but they treated each other nicely. Darcy and Alice were together in the table in front of Jane and to the left, as were the two other Gryfﬁndor girls, who were on Jane's direct right and three Gryfﬁndor boys to Jane's direct left. The remaining Slytherin boys took the table in front and to the right of Jane.

"Welcome to Herbology," Neville said, "I am Professor Longbottom. In this classroom, you will learn about the magical plants, their abilities, and how to get what you want from them. For those of you who desire to keep clean, I'd advise putting that aside if you want a decent grade." And Neville went on to check attendance. When he got to Jane's name, he gave her a quick quizzical look, before continuing. After that, he went on to describe the plant they would be working on that day. As Jane's table was working, they had a quiet conversation.

"So Albus and James are really confused about you being in Slytherin," Lily said.

"Is there something wrong with that?" Flint asked.

"No, it's just your house's reputation and founder's beliefs," Sam said.

"From what I read, Salazar Slytherin's desired qualities could ﬁt any person, Muggle-born or other," Flint said.

"True," Lily said, "But old views don't die away that easily. There are still some who wouldn't like Jane."

"Already met two," Jane said nodding in Alice and Darcy's direction.

"See my reason for worry then, Robert?" Lily asked.

"I understand," Robert said stomping behind Lily, as the Venomous Tentacula shrub was about to try some of Lily. His foot landed on the outstretched tentacle. When he released, it retreated.

"Thanks," Lily said.

"No problem," Robert replied, and continued examining the fungus before them. They maintained a friendly attitude for the rest of class. When the bell rang, the four of them packed their things.

"What do you have next?" Jane asked.

"In the afternoon, we have Defense Against the Dark Arts," Sam replied, "You guys?"

"We have Potions," Robert said.

"See you next class then," Jane said.

"See ya," Lily said. As Jane and Robert walked to their table for lunch, Jane notices a queer smile on Robert's face.

"You ﬁnd my cousin 'interesting' I take it?" Jane asked as they sat down.

"I do," Robert said, "I didn't think she'd be that friendly with me so quickly."

"It could have been a ruse," came a voice from behind. Both turned around.

"Hello Alice, Darcy," Jane said, "And I doubt it was."

"Oh, like you really know what they think like?" Darcy asked.

"I do," Jane said, "I was her guest at her house a couple of times over the summer. We are cousins after all."

"If you like her so much, why don't you join her?" Alice asked.

"Because the Sorting Hat put me here," Jane said. She put out her hand. "Now, since we are both here, can't we shake and be friends?" Alice looked like Jane gave her a rude

hand gesture.

"No," Alice said before she and Darcy moved down the table.

"Why do you even try with that?" Robert asked.

"I was raised that way," Jane said, "Just try to be friends. But the moment they actually hurt me, let's say I maybe Muggle-born, but I'm not stupid."

"Interesting," Robert said as they started eating.

Once they had ﬁnished, Jane looked at her watch. "It's just about one now," she noted, "I think that's enough to make it to the Owlery and write a letter home."

"All right, I'll see you in class," Robert said. Jane walked up several ﬂights of stairs and headed to the western part of the castle. Suddenly, she heard a cackling from down the hall.

"Oh what fun will Peeves make this year?" cackled the voice. Jane was about to call out when someone grabbed her from behind a tapestry. The person pulled her into a secret passage and clapped a hand over Jane's mouth.

Jane struggled, but stopped when she heard Scorpius whisper, "That is Peeves, the Poltergeist. He loves causing chaos, especially with ﬁrst years. Filch hates him." Jane stayed quiet until Peeves got past.

"Thanks," she said. She looked out into the hall. "He's gone," she said before looking at Scorpius. "Uh, which way is quickest to the Owlery?" she asked.

"Keep on this corridor, and then up the next few ﬂights of stairs," Scorpius said, "See you in the common room."

"Bye," Jane said hurrying out and following Scorpius' directions. She entered the stone room. She immediately saw the hundreds of owls perched. In some places, it looked like the wall was moving. She quickly spotted Mercury and went to him.

"Hey Merc," Jane said, "Are you enjoying your new home?" Mercury hooted in agreement. Jane smiled and pulled out some parchment and a quill. "Let's see," Jane said as she wrote home. When she ﬁnished, she read over her letter. It read:

Dear Dad, Mom, and Michael,

Hi. I got here just ﬁne. On the train ride, I made some more friends in the Weasley family. As for the house I got sorted into, it is Slytherin. It's nice, so far. I've made friends with one boy who is in his third year, with Albus. His name is Scorpius. Another is with a boy in my year named Robert. I just had Herbology. It was really fun. I have to go now, to get ready for Potions. They weren't kidding when they said this castle was big. I love you all. Keep safe, and Dad, be sure to run over some mimes.

Love,

Jane

Jane laughed at her personal joke to her father. She put the letter in an envelope, and addressed it to her parents. Mercury clamped on the letter as Jane gave it to him. When she had backed away, it ﬂew off back to Surrey. Jane collected her things and trekked back down the stairs. By the time she made it to the entrance hall, she was getting out of breath.

"You really get a work out going up and down these steps," Jane thought. She continued walking down into the dungeons. She saw some of her class moving along and caught up with them. Robert wasn't among the clique.

"Well, if it isn't the mudblood," Darcy called on Jane's approach. Many of the students chuckled at the dark humor. Others checked around for teachers or prefects.

"A what?" Jane asked, confused by the word. She knew it was an insult, but couldn't make sense of it. Jane sighed and said, "You know Darcy, if you were smarter, you'd of said something that makes sense to me, so I would feel insulted. But there you go, letting your stupid pride and ignorance make a fool of yourself. To be in the house of cunning, you sure are lacking it." Jane started walking away as the clique started chuckling at her retort.

"No mudblood talks to me like that!" Darcy screamed. And she charged at Jane's back. Jane heard it coming. She quickly turned around and punched Darcy in the jaw. Darcy fell to the ﬂoor, nursing her bleeding wound, when Alice came and attacked Jane. She was just within Jane's punching range when Alice ﬂew backwards. Jane looked around and saw a very mad Professor Skylar.

"What is going on?" she demanded. As she spoke, the Hufﬂepuffs showed up.

"Jane punched Darcy without reason!" Alice screamed, "Darcy has some broken teeth!"

"That's bull!" Jane replied, "I was defending myself. Darcy charged me from behind and I turned and punched her in the jaw. It's not my fault it was made of glass."

"Darcy also called Jane a 'mudblood'," came one Slytherin boy in the group.

"Jane, Darcy, Alice, my ofﬁce now," Skylar said, her face was blood-red, "Everyone else, go to the classroom. Get your books out and read. Keep your wands away. Any spell casting, and I mean any, and you'll ﬁnd yourself scrubbing out my old potion jars with your toothbrush." The Hufﬂepuffs, with Hugo in front, followed the Slytherins into the classroom. Jane saw mouths whispering, desiring to know what they missed.

Jane followed Professor Skylar, Alice, and Darcy to Skylar's ofﬁce. Inside the room, were hundreds of jars of different things: Some held bits of animals, others potions, and others still held nothing but remnants of the two former. "Probably what would be cleaned," Jane thought. Skylar moved behind her desk and sat down. She motioned for the girls to sit down. She adjusted her circular glasses and pierced each girl with a stare; it felt like she was seeing through them.

"Now, tell me what happened, exactly," Skylar said in a low whisper, but laced with anger. "Darcy, you go ﬁrst."

"Well, we, the other Slytherin ﬁrst years and I, were waiting for class, wondering when Jane and Robert were to show up. Then Jane comes down and starts making snide remarks to us."

"That's no. . ." Jane started, but found she couldn't speak and Skylar's wand was aimed at her.

"It's rude to interrupt, Jane," Skylar said. She nodded for Darcy to continue.

"Jane went on about how she would be better than us in everything," Darcy said, "She said, in her words, 'I'll prove that mudboods are better wizards than your type. I don't even care if you call me that.' So, I did, and she punched my jaw." Darcy opened her mouth, and Jane noted Darcy had a few broken teeth in her lower jaw. Jane wished she had punched harder now.

"Then I attacked her, so she wouldn't punch Darcy again," Alice said, "Then you arrived, and stopped me." Jane was wishing she had punched Alice as well.

"I see," Skylar said, in an emotionless tone, "Jane, what's your version of the story?"

"Well, I was walking up to the group, and that's when Darcy called me a mudblood," Jane said, "But since I didn't know what that meant, I chided her for her stupidity in name calling, noting that for being 'in the house of cunning, you sure are lacking it.' Darcy got angry and attacked me. I heard her coming and I defended myself by turning and giving her a right hook. She's lucky I used my weak hand, or it would have been worse." Darcy gave a cautious look at Jane.

"You know how to box?" Skylar asked.

"I've watched my dad train for couple of years and picked it up by observing and copying his actions," Jane confessed. She had never told anyone she knew the basics of boxing. Professor Skylar looked at Jane with an interesting look.

"Barbaric Muggle sport," Alice muttered.

"It is not!" Jane said, "It demands peak physical health, a good mind, and a level of companionship to your opponent that is above what you give me!"

"What do you mean?" Skylar asked.

"Ever since they found out I was Muggle-born, they have given me the cold shoulder."

"Is this true?" Skylar asked the two. When neither responded, Skylar continued. "No matter, I won't have internal ﬁghts on my watch, so as punishment; ﬁve points will be taken for each of you." She stood up. "Now Ms. Goyle, I want you to go to the hospital wing and get that taken care of. Bleeding into a potion can be dangerous. You two ladies follow me to the class and we will begin." Skylar opened the door and let Darcy leave, then lead Jane and Alice to the classroom. As Skylar opened the door, the ocean of whispers and rumors the three heard quelled in a heartbeat. All eyes were watching the three enter, their minds begging to know; where was Darcy?

Alice and Jane tried to leave, but Professor Skylar looked at them. She lowered her head and whispered, with a sadistic smile, "You two will be working together for the next month. If I get so much as a sigh in discontent, it will be twenty points for both of you and a detention. When Ms. Goyle returns, she will join you. Now, there is a nice table right in front of my desk, I suggest you two ﬁnd your seats." Skylar stood upright and led them to their table. She tapped the table, and the three girls names were engraved into three seats at the table. Jane was next to Alice and across from Darcy. The pair sat down. Skylar went behind her desk and called out attendance. When she got to Robert's name, she said, "Mr. Flint, I do not approve of tardiness, please relocate yourself to the front table."

"How did you know?" Robert asked.

"I have my ways," Professor Skylar answered coldly. Robert sighed and stood up. As Robert collected his supplies, his name was engraved into the ﬁnal seat at Jane's table. When Robert had taken his seat, Professor Skylar looked at her class.

"All right," she said, "In this classroom, my word is law. If you break any rule, you will pay double penalty. First, you will lose house points. I don't care what was done and who did it. If someone attacks you and you ﬁght back, both will be punished." A Hufﬂepuff raised her hand. "Yes?" Skylar asked.

"So, we can't even defend ourselves?" the Hufﬂepuff girl asked.

"No, you may, but should it go to what I perceive as 'excessive force', then you'll be punished," Skylar said, "Next, you will be relocated to the front of the classroom, with an assigned seat and a possible detention. Should neither deter your further actions, then the number of house points taken will be increased greatly. You can just ask the third year and older Hufﬂepuffs about that Slytherin Potions NEWT student I had and how he helped them win the House Cup by making a stupid move in my classroom or in my presence. And my house, be warned, I will be tougher on you than the others." Alice raised her hand. "Yes?"

"But that's not fair!" Alice replied.

"Not fair Ms. Zabini?" Skylar asked, "Much of life will never be fair. Many students lost friends and family over twenty years ago ﬁghting against Voldemort. They grew up without brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, and friends. That was unfair. I was there; I remember hearing his voice echoing, wanting only Harry Potter. I remember how some from my house would rather give him up to the slaughter than face Voldemort. I remember the other houses standing to protect him. Then, I was being shuttled out with the rest of the underage students. I remember coming back the next morning and coming across the chambers where they were letting the dead rest. All that life: gone. And only one Slytherin died on their side. Now that is unfair. So, you will deal with my rules and regulations or you and I won't get along very well." No one spoke back; they gazed upon their teacher with a mixture of respect and fear.

"Now, here are the class rules," Skylar said breathing heavy, her face was still red from her retort, "Copy them and remember them." She pointed her wand at the blackboard and ﬁve simple rules appeared:

kind to your fellow student in this room.

raise your hand before speaking, and make sure the Professor picks your hand ﬁrst, and then speak.

practical jokes during the lesson. Verbal jokes will be allowed, as long as they aren't slanderous or prejudice.

spell casting, save cleaning up and starting ﬁres for your cauldrons

vulgarity of any sort.

These rules are subject to extensions on Professor Skylar's choice, should she feel it warranted. If you feel mistreated, speak with your House Head about it. Slytherins, you are in tough luck.

Jane chuckled as she copied them down. She had a feeling she was going to like Professor Skylar. Once everyone was done, Skylar went over how to set-up their cauldrons on the table and how get the ﬁres started and how to control them. By the time Skylar ﬁnished, the class bell rang. Darcy hadn't returned.

"I'll see you next class," Skylar said, "Jane, stay back for a minute, will you?" Jane looked and saw both Hugo and Robert gave her hopeful looks and left. When they were alone, Professor Skylar moved around and sat on her desk. Her demeanor softened, and Jane felt the room become more comfortable.

"Jane," Skylar started out in a soft voice, "Have you made any friends in this house yet?"

"Why do you ask?" Jane asked.

"I've been Head of Slytherin House for nearly ﬁfteen years, since Professor Slughorn retired. And in that time, I've had eleven students like you pass through my house," Skylar said.

"Each was a Muggle-born?" Jane asked.

"Yes," Skylar said, "Most were able to make a friend in the house who helped them through the ignorance of their peers. So, have you?"

"Yes, Robert was one and Scorpius Malfoy is another," Jane said.

"That's good," Skylar said, smiling. Jane looked at Skylar's smile and how it enhanced her youthful face, compared to the hardened face she had for most of the class. "You are an interesting girl, Jane Dursley."

"How so?" Jane asked, noting that was the second time she had been called "interesting" today.

"You come into a house that once hated Muggle-borns, made friends with two boys already, and are very capable of defending yourself, even without magic. You're also the ﬁrst student I had who admitted to box." Jane smiled.

"I just know the basics," Jane said, "But if you don't mind me asking, are you a 'pure-blood'?" Skylar looked at Jane.

"No, I'm not. I'm what was called a half-blood. My father is a Muggle," Skylar said, "He was also a member of the RAF, Group Captain." Jane laughed.

"That explains your attitude in class," Jane said, "Um, may I go now?"

"Yes," Skylar said, "You don't want to be late for dinner, do you?" Jane shook her head and took off out the door. Jane made it to the Great Hall in record time. She quickly found Robert.

"Hey Rob," Jane said sitting next to her friend.

"So, what did Skylar want?" Robert asked, putting some food on his plate.

"Just to see how I was doing in this house," Jane noted. She glanced up at the staff table, and saw Professors Skylar and Longbottom talking and smiling. "And to see if I had made any friends yet."

"Ah, what did you say?" Robert asked.

"I told her you and Scorpius were two so far," Jane said.

"Glad you count me as one," Robert said, "Darcy turned up right as dinner started. It seems Alice told her we're Potions buddies."

"Bet she was thrilled," Jane said. "So, why were you late to class?"

"I was waiting in the Great Hall for you. I must have missed you and went down after the Hufﬂepuffs. I was no more than a minute late. She must have some sensory charm on her door."

"Or a house elf watching," Jane said as about to put some mashed potatoes in her mouth when she whispered to Robert, "What is a mudblood?" Robert choked on his pumpkin juice.

"So, Darcy did call you that?" Robert asked, looking at Jane. She nodded. "It's the greatest insult to someone like you," Robert said, "It would mean dirty blood."

"I can see why she thought she'd get a rise out of me," Jane said smirking.

"You don't ﬁnd it offensive?" Robert asked.

"Yes, but that's no reason for me to react to it. If I did, she'd win. Names like that only have power if people give it to them," Jane said, "If your ignorant, then they are useless. Like this." And Jane pulled out a quill and some spare parchment and drew a Swastika on one corner. "Does this mean anything to you?" she asked Robert.

"No, what is it?" Robert asked.

"It was the insignia of some people who came to power in Germany about eighty years ago. They believed they were the 'Master Race' and decided to kill off those who were of different faiths. They had camps they would send people to, to die. In the Muggle world, wearing this means you support them still today," Jane said.

"Sounds like Voldemort and his beliefs, only 'pure-bloods' and 'half-bloods' were acceptable, Muggle-borns weren't and some were killed trying to hide," Robert said.

"The ones died against him; that memorial in the Entrance Hall is in honor of, isn't it?" Jane asked.

"Those who died at the ﬁnal battle here, yes," Robert said.

"I think Sam lost someone there," Jane said, looking at the Gryfﬁndor table. Robert started chuckling. "It's not funny," Jane said, kicking him in the shins.

"Ow," Robert said, "I wasn't laughing at Sam, I was thinking, if your ﬁrst day of school was this exciting, what will tomorrow be like?" Jane now laughed, also wondering what new adventure the next day would bring.

Chapter 4: The Witching Hour

"And this was the start of Hogwarts," droned the voice of Professor Binns. He barely glanced up at his snoring class. The majority of the Slytherin first years were realizing that they could catch up on their beauty sleep, due to the numbing effect of Professor Binns. Robert could only raise a drowsy eyebrow at Jane and how she was able to keep aware of what this dead man was saying.

After class, Robert looked at Jane and asked, "How could you keep awake through that?" Jane smiled.

"Boring teachers in my old school trained me well," Jane said, "I did the same thing there as I did just now."

"What was that?" Robert asked, hoping he could at least copy it so he wouldn't have to copy Jane's notes.

"I would listen to Queen's greatest hits I-III on my iPod Omega," Jane said, "Their music in my head kept me awake enough to take the needed notes."

"You listened to what on your what?" Robert asked.

"An iPod Omega is a personal music device where I can put songs into," Jane said, "It stores libraries of songs. What I would listen to is the Greatest Hits albums, one, two, and three of a band named Queen. I'll show you if you ever come over to my house for the holiday. I don't think the machine would work here." Robert took the information better this time.

"I'll think about it," Robert said, "May I use your notes for any essays we'll have?"

"Sure," Jane piped. Robert couldn't understand this girl: Where did this energy come from? She doesn't eat much for breakfast. They journeyed down to lunch, and from there to Defence Against the Dark Arts. Professor Hollis was a young witch, and like the others, had a stern face as she described her subject. Jane was eager to start practising, but the only homework they received, was an essay on their view on the Dark Arts and combating them.

Come Wednesday morning, Mercury had returned with a reply. Jane opened it and read her parent's note. She smiled as she read it.

"What does it say?" Robert asked.

"They're happy for my getting friends quickly. Michael got to school fine and grandpa is on two more medications for his heart. Ironically, with these two colours, he has each base colour of each Hogwarts house."

"He has a heart condition?" Robert asked.

"Yeah, and me being a witch only exaggerates it, since he doesn't like anything imaginary. At least he would stop flinching when I would hug him," Jane noted.

"Sounds like a wonderful grandparent," Robert said coldly.

"He actually was, until my letter, then he became much like Alice and Darcy," Jane said, smiling at the girls as she spoke about them. They glared back.

"At least they shut up for now, and the guys are treating you with a live and let live policy," Robert said, speaking of his dorm mates. The duo got up and walked to the Astronomy classroom. Professor Vega, the head of Ravenclaw house, was waiting. The ceiling had been bewitched to look like the night sky. Professor Vega started with how the class would work, learning the names in class and the practical part later that night. Before she stopped, she advised everyone who wasn't used to late nights, to take a nap after dinner to help them stay up better.

Herbology followed in the afternoon and they continued looking at magical fungi. Jane was happy to recount Lily and Sam exactly what happened with Alice and Darcy. Apparently, Hugo had met up with them outside dinner Monday night and told them Darcy had to have all her incisors regrown after a single punch and Alice suffered a bruised rib as well. Robert chuckled when Sam and Lily said that nearly the entire school knew about the fight by now.

"Well, that's one way to get known to the school," Jane said. The three laughed at that. The lesson soon ended. The only problem for that day was Peeves deciding to put some ink on some of the school telescopes. And so, at the end of their Astronomy class Robert was clean, but Alice, Darcy, and Jane all had a black eye. Jane didn't care much, seeing as the ink would eventually rub off. Alice and Darcy, however, were complaining about Peeves as they were walking back to the dorms.

"That stupid ghost," Darcy complained, "Oh, if I see him, I'll…"

"Speaking ill of old Peeves?" cackled a voice from above. All three looked up and saw Peeves. His bright, wide smile hovered over them like a guillotine's blade. "Very bad manners to say nasty things about me," he said in an oily voice. He flew down and took a spear from a suit of armor and twirled it around. "You first years need to be punished, you do," he finished. He dove, aiming for Darcy. All four split in different directions. Out of them, Peeves decided to switch targets and aim for Jane.

Jane ran with everything she had. She went up some stairs, down hallways, down some other stairs, but all the while she heard Peeves cackling behind her. She was so panicked, she didn't realize she ran past, and nearly over, a cat. Right after that, at the next corner, she, literally, ran into an old man with an oil lamp.

"Caught out of bed," he said as Jane bounced to the floor.

"Peeves was chasing me after I got out of Astronomy class," Jane said.

"No excuse, you should have headed down towards the common room then," the man said, grabbing Jane, "Which house is yours then?"

"Slytherin, and who are you?" Jane asked politely.

"I'm Filch, caretaker of this school, not that you bloody kids care, always making a mess of things," Filch said, coming to a door. He knocked loudly.

"Who is it?" came a female voice.

"Filch, Professor Skylar, caught one of your students out of bed," Filch cackled. Professor Skylar opened the door. Her hair hung low, not in a bun like in class, her deep purple nightgown touched the floor.

"What is the meaning of this?" she demanded.

"We, Alice, Darcy, Robert, and I, were leaving our Astronomy lesson, Professor," Jane said quickly, "Darcy started badmouthing Peeves for putting ink on some of the telescopes," Jane pointed to her own black eye. "But Peeves was over head. He taunted us, then took a spear and charged us, making us scatter. I ran towards some stairs and he decided to follow me. I ran as fast as I could, not paying attention to where I was. Then Mr. Filch found me." Skylar looked at Filch.

"Did you bother to ask her for her story?" she demanded.

"No, I figured she was lying," Filch said.

"Mr. Filch, tell me, since you started breeding Mrs. Norris and her kittens, how many cats do you have patrolling the hallways?" Skylar asked.

"I had ten on patrol tonight," Filch said.

"And I assume one was in the Great Hall since curfew? And others between there and this fifth floor corridor?"

"Yes."

"Then do you believe, after learning about all the secret passages in this school and training your cats so well, a first year could have made it this far without you knowing?" Skylar asked. Filch scowled.

"I don't suppose so," he admitted.

"Then, the likelihood of her story would be true is increased, coupled with the fact that Professor Vega did have my first years tonight, it seems certain that Jane is telling the truth."

"It does," said the old man.

"Then, would you kindly escort Jane back to her common room? There is no reason to punish her from trying to escape Peeves," Skylar said. Filch looked like he'd rather wait for more possible trouble makers, but he conceded to the teacher's request.

"Come on, this way," he said turning around. Skylar gave Jane a nod, signifying she'd be alright. Jane caught up with Filch.

"Thank you for doing this," Jane said. Filch glared at her, not unlike the stares she received from Skylar and Robert when they called her interesting.

"You don't need to butter me up, you aren't getting a punishment," Filch said as they walked down some steps. They were joined by a tabby cat.

"I wasn't meaning it that way," Jane said, "Is this your cat?"

"That's Mr. Smith, he's heading to the washrooms, and the cat coming up the steps is Mr. Jordan," Filch said.

"They seem very intelligent," Jane said scratching Mr. Smith before he continued his patrol. Filch once again looked at Jane with a queer look. Most students were cold and cruel to him and his cats, often being scared as well. But this girl was being nice for no apparent reason, to both him and his beloved cats. He was so distracted, he walked right into a wall masked as a door. Filch looked at Jane, expecting a smile or a laugh at his expense, but her face showed neither.

"You all right?" she asked.

"Fine," Filch said, collecting himself and leading her down the hidden path, right next to the false door. Within a few minutes, they made it to the entrance hall. "I take it you can go on from here?" he asked.

"Yes, thank you and have a nice evening," Jane said before leaving. Filch shook his head and went back to his office. Jane quickly made it to the common room. When she entered, she saw Robert sitting in his normal chair waiting for her.

"How are you?" he asked. Jane noticed the worry on his face.

"Oh, I'm fine," Jane said yawning, "Just tired. See you in the morning." She passed by him and went to bed.

The next morning, Jane woke up from a chilly breeze to see both Alice and Darcy still asleep. Jane looked over and saw Peeves blowing in her face.

"Got you," he said before flying out of there.

"Note to self, find way to hurt that guy," Jane thought as she tried to fall back asleep, but failed. She eventually checked her watch. It was 6 a.m. She didn't get to bed until 2:20. "Today is going to be fun," she thought. She waited on a comfy chair in the common room until 6:45 before going up to breakfast. As she was walking up into the hall, she saw Professor Longbottom coming down the steps in the Entrance Hall.

"Morning Professor," she called. Neville jumped nearly a foot off the floor.

"Jane," he said looking at the tired first year. "I see Filch got you back to your common room." This woke Jane up.

"How did you know about Mr. Filch?" she asked. Neville turned red and muttered something about the ghosts mentioning it, before going outside to check his plants for his classes.

"Weird," Jane though. She entered the Great Hall and had a small breakfast waiting for Robert to show up. When he did, they recanted stories about what happened. Robert had ducked into a hidden passageway, and when he came back out, he didn't hear Peeves anymore. By the time he got to the common room, Alice and Darcy just showed up. That was around 1:30.

"What about you?" Robert asked.

"Oh, I ran into Mr. Filch," Jane said casually, "He took me to Skylar, and she believed me. So, she had Mr. Filch take me to the common room."

"That's it?" he asked.

"Well, I found out Mr. Filch has at least ten cats patrolling the castle at night," Jane added. She didn't want to say anything about Professor Longbottom, until she knew more. she glanced up and saw that he was, yet again, talking with Professor Skylar. The strange part was both would glance at Jane as breakfast went on.

"Interesting," Jane thought.

Chapter 5: The Mind of Ms. Dursley

Jane sat in her normal seat, pondering something in class. All through Herbology Professor Longbottom would give her quick looks.

"I'll ﬁnd out after class," Jane decided in thought.

"Hey, what's up?" Lily asked, noticing Jane's expression. It was the same when Jane asked her questions about the magical world.

"Oh, nothing, just thinking over the past few days," Jane said as she took notes down. "Like people's reactions to me and all that and other things."

"All right," Lily replied, "Like what 'other things'?"

Oh, this and that," Jane answered. Lily gave Robert a look of inquiry, but he shook his head. He had been trying to ﬁnd out what caused this look since breakfast, but to no avail. The class bell rung.

"Stop where you are, we'll pick up next Monday," Neville spoke out, "Be sure to put your fungus back where you found it. They'll release spores on you if you don't. They won't hurt, just make your hands smell bad." After the class did as instructed, they started leaving.

"I'll catch up with you in a minute," Jane told her friends, "I just want to ask Professor Longbottom something." They nodded and proceeded. Jane approached her Professor.

"Uh Professor," Jane started, worried.

"Yes Jane?" Neville replied. Jane took a deep breath. It was against her nature to dwell on things this personal, but she just had to know.

"Are you dating the Head of my House?" Jane spurted out. Neville stared at Jane.

"What gives you that idea?" Neville asked, keeping a straight face.

"Well, you talk a lot during meals, and when you do, you both are smiling," Jane said.

"That could just mean we are good friends," Neville answered.

"True, but usually people are good friends when in a relationship," Jane countered.

"Point taken," Neville said, "What else?"

"Well, your words this morning," Jane said, "You knew about what happened with Mr. Filch and I, despite only Professor Skylar knowing about it."

"As I said, I heard a ghost speak of it," Neville said.

"All right, but isn't your ofﬁce on the ﬁrst ﬂoor?"

"It is," Neville replied.

"Then what were you doing walking down the Entrance Hall stairs this morning?" Jane asked. Neville looked at Jane, and then smiled.

"You are a very astute witch," Neville said, "You remind me of a friend who is also Muggle-born, and like you, good with this sort of logic."

"So, I'm right?" Jane asked.

"Yes," Neville said, "Professor Skylar and I are dating. We've been at it for over a year, and you're the ﬁrst time a student caught on, or caught on and confronted us." Jane smiled at this.

"But why keep it secret?" Jane asked.

"Because, we both feel it is important to keep a professional appearance at work, so no one can claim a biased act," Neville said, "Also, it's none of your business." Jane blushed. "I'd appreciate you not telling anyone else about this, all right?"

"Sure," Jane said, "Have a nice day." And Jane turned to leave the room, with a light skip.

For the rest of the day, all of Robert's inquiries as to what she had talked about were either met with silence or a repeated remark of either, "You're smart and cunning; you ﬁgure it out yourself." Or "I'd rather not talk about it." Eventually, during the practice part of their Transﬁguration Jane got fed up.

"All right, I'll tell you," she said, "But."

"But what?" Robert asked.

"You must answer me this question: Is this statement I write down true or false," Jane spoke as she wrote in the header of Robert's notes.

"'This statement is false.'" Robert read, "That's all?" He looked at Jane, who was smiling.

"This is evil," she thought, "But at least it will keep him busy." Robert laughed.

"It's false," Robert said simply.

"But that would make the statement true, by a double negative; thus contradicting itself," Jane replied quickly. Robert looked at it again. He couldn't ﬁgure out the answer.

"You're very cheek," Robert said at Jane's grin.

"Thanks," Jane said before turning her attention back to the matchsticks before her. Some had become nice needles, while others were part- metal and part-wood. "Transﬁguration is really tough," Jane thought. She tried the spell on another matchstick with all her might. When she looked at it again, it was a perfect needle, complete with eye.

"Nice work," Robert said grudgingly. His attempts had some complete needles, but the vast majority was only half to three-quarters complete.

"Very nice work Ms. Dursley," came the voice of aged Transﬁguration teacher, Professor Solon. His white frizzy hair looked interesting to his yellow robes, "You pick up this very well."

"Thanks," Jane said. Then the class bell rang. "Off to dinner," she said with a smile.

"Yep," Robert said. As the duo walked out, they were trailed by Alice and Darcy.

There was a quick light and then Jane fell to the ground. "Oh," she said.

"Jane!" Robert said looking down. He looked behind and didn't see Alice and Darcy, who had ducked away. He returned to Jane and saw her toe nails growing through her shoes.

"What's happening?" Jane asked in a panic, "They aren't stopping." A crowd gathered around the frightened ﬁrst-year. Robert looked around, unsure what to do, the nails just reached one foot long, with no sign of stopping. But suddenly, they did stop.

"I recall that hex since my days here at school," Professor Solon said from behind Robert. He was looking down at Jane's toe nails, "Ruined one of my favorite pair of trainers." "You lot can clear out now," he said to the crowd. They exchanged looks and dispersed.

"Thanks Professor Solon," Jane said, trying to get up. Her nails made clacking noises on the ﬂoor.

"Did you see the caster?" Robert asked.

"No, I was walking the other way when I heard you yell," Professor Solon said. He knelt down and tapped her nails with his wand and they broke off. Another tap to her shoes and they were mended. "You'll need to ﬁx trim the remaining bits yourself," he said standing up, "I don't fancy amputating my student's toes."

"Thank you again," Jane said picking up her nails.

"Do you know who might have done this?" Professor Solon asked the two. Jane and Robert exchanged glances.

"Darcy Goyle and Alice Zabini," Jane said, "They don't like me very much."

"But did either of you see them?" Solon asked.

"No," Robert said, "Just a ﬂash of light and then Jane collapsed."

"I see," Professor Solon said, "Thank you. You two better be off to dinner."

"All right," Jane said and they left. "We had no proof," Jane said, "They got away this time."

"Sneaky dogs," Robert said, "We need to get them back. I'll get them with a nice hex."

"Don't be stupid," Jane said, "Attacking them directly won't do us any good. We just gave their names to Solon. If they are attacked soon, we'll be the top suspects. You don't take the King straightforward, you need to plan your moves carefully, wait until the opportune moment, and then strike so they come down hard and leave no trail to us."

"It is times like these I see why you're a Slytherin," Robert said, "What's your plan?"

"Attack one of them and leave the other hanging," Jane said, "The other will expect an attack at anytime, but it will never come. But the question is: which do we go after?"

"I say Darcy," Robert said as they walked down some steps, "Alice hasn't been hurt by you yet, so she'd a better target to watch squirm."

"I like your thinking and I have just the plan," Jane said whispering in Robert's ear.

"Oh, that's good. That's very good. Remind me not to get on your bad side," Robert said.

"Don't get on my bad side," Jane said, laughing. Robert laughed as well.

The next morning, Darcy and Alice looked at Jane as she tied her shoes. "You should really trim your toe nails better," Alice said snidely.

"Why should she?" Darcy asked, "They might just grow back again." Both girls cracked up.

"So, one of you did hit me with that spell?" Jane asked.

"Yes," Darcy replied, "You deserve more after that punch you gave me. And more will come."

"I see," Jane said, visibly sad, "Well, I hope you have a nice day."

"Forget you," Alice said before she and Darcy left. Jane left a minute after them and met up with Robert at the wall entrance.

"They confessed," she said.

"I see," Robert said, "Well, I made what you wanted." He handed her a small bag of powder. "This will be interesting to see."

"Let's go then," Jane said as they walked up to the Great Hall. They quickly found the snickering pair. They walked up behind them. Jane leaned over Alice, holding the bag.

"Hello ladies," she said dangling the bag in front of them.

"Hello Mud-blood," Darcy replied, "What's that? Medication for your feet so those toes won't grow fast?"

"No, a little something from home. A powder which will do very interesting things to you," Jane said.

"Really?" Alice asked, not sure whether to chance the powder or not.

Suddenly Darcy yelled, "Watch it Robert!"

"Sorry," he said holding a boiled egg and seemed to of dropped the salt near Darcy's hand. He picked it up, but not without making a mess.

"What's all this?" came a voice from behind them. All four turned to see Professor Skylar.

"Just a friendly chat," Jane said.

"Jane threatened us with that poison in her bag!" Darcy exclaimed. Skylar's eyes pierced Jane.

"Is that true?" she asked.

"No," Jane replied, "Unless they were diabetic. It is sugar I picked up from yesterday's dinner. I thought I'd try out a poker face on them. No harm was done." Skylar continued looking at Jane and took the bag. A quick whiff later, she returned the bag, but the glare remained.

"I heard about yesterday," Skylar said softly, "I hope no one here would be stupid enough to try some type of revenge." She glanced at Robert, who avoided eye contact, but when she looked at Alice and Darcy, both made eye contact.

"Professor, we would be very stupid to try that here, with an audience and you watching us," Robert said.

"Very well," Skylar said, before leaving.

"See you in class," Jane said to Alice and Darcy. Jane and Robert took seats down the way, smiling.

"Nice diversion," Robert said.

"Thanks," Jane said, "You get the stuff on her ﬁngers?"

"Yep," Robert said, "Time to put that nasty habit to use."

Breakfast soon passed and as the duo was leaving, Lily came sprinting up to Jane. "Want to come have tea with me this afternoon?" she asked.

"Sure, where?" Jane asked.

"Hagrid's," Lily said before racing off to class.

"This is going to be a nice day," Jane said as they entered the Charms classroom. Jane and Robert sat some ways away from Darcy and Alice. Professor Meriwether started class with taking attendance. Jane paid little attention, keeping an eye on her target. Soon, like clockwork, Darcy brought her textbook up, appearing to read when nose spurted blood violently.

"Oh my!" Professor Meriwether said running over to Darcy, whose nose just let out another gusher. "Not good," he noted jumping back as another wave of blood came up. "Ms. Zabini, take Ms. Goyle to the Hospital Wing immediately," Meriwether ordered. Alice didn't need telling twice and she helped Darcy out of the classroom. Her peers were laughing at what just happened. Class passed without further incident

When lunch came, Darcy and Alice were nowhere to be seen. Robert had swiftly destroyed the powder he planted on Darcy's hand in a toilet in boy's bathroom.

"Very nice idea making a powder of those pills," Robert said.

"My brother and I can usually get stuff by our parents when we work together," Jane said, "They didn't bother searching me for the skiving snacks James gave us." Robert chuckled.

"Part of me wonders what it would have been like if we had combined Fever Fudge, Nosebleed Nougat, and Puking Pastilles all into one," he muttered, "She would really get blasted with them." He looked up. "Here comes Skylar." Professor Skylar had a stern face on, not unlike what she had when Jane ﬁrst met her.

"You two follow me," she spoke sharply. Jane and Robert stood and followed her. She led the two to an unused classroom. When they entered, she looked down at them. "Did you poison Ms. Goyle?" she asked.

"No, Professor Skylar," Jane said, "We didn't touch her."

"You expect me to believe that?" Skylar asked.

"Professor, how many poisons do you know that could sit for several minutes before activating after ingestion?" Jane asked.

"None," Skylar said, "They all would activate soon after ingestion."

"So, then how do you explain our contact being in the Great Hall, causing Darcy's condition coming on after Charms class started?" Robert asked. Skylar's brow lowered as they just proved a good point.

"Look you two, don't play coy with me," Skylar spoke, "I know you poisoned her. How you did it, I don't know. But try something like this again and you'll wish you've never been born." She opened the door and left them alone.

"That was close," Robert said.

"But worth it," Jane said smiling. They then went on to lunch. After it, they went separate ways. "I'll see you in a few hours," Jane said walking out to meet Lily on the lawn.

"Hey Jane," Lily said with a serious tone, "Everyone's talking about you again."

"They tend to. I am a bit queer," Jane said, "What are they saying about me?"

"You poisoned Darcy in Charms class," Lily said.

"I just went over this with Professor Skylar; I couldn't have poisoned her, as there are none that would wait that long before activating."

"I know," Lily said, "But sudden nose bleeding sounds like a Skiving Snack. Lacing something she would eat would at a later point would allow for the time difference."

"You gave this some thought," Jane said.

"I talked it over with Fred," Lily said, "So, how did you do it?"

"Lily, I'm telling you, I didn't poison Darcy. I wanted to, after that hex she put on me and got away with," Jane said, "But I didn't touch her." Lily stopped and looked at Jane.

"You expect me to believe after all the different plans you came up with for me to get back at James over the summer, you didn't plan this attack out?" Lily asked.

"No, I expect you to use your brilliant mind to try and ﬁgure out how I could have done it, if I did," Jane said.

"By striking back, you on her level," Lily said, "You're no better than she is."

"Sometimes, that's how things turn out. I treat them with kindness and in return I get hexes and insults. If making Darcy suffer through some humiliation makes her and others stop antagonizing me then it might be worth it," Jane said, "I was put into a house where I hear whispers behind my back, and know they are about me. Sometimes it gets really bad. So forgive me for not laying down and taking it all with no reaction." Tears started to appear in Jane's eyes. Lily looked at her friend.

"It's really that bad?" Lily asked.

"If it hadn't been for making friends with Scorpius and Robert, I probably would have asked to be switched out," Jane said as they made it to Hagrid's hut. "I see what Skylar meant. She knew how tough this would be for me to do."

"So why don't you switch out?" Lily asked.

"I don't abandon my friends," Jane said simply. Lily gave Jane a comforting smile and knocked on the door. Hagrid's bushy face appeared when it was open.

"Hello Lily," Hagrid said.

"Hey Hagrid, I brought a friend with me," Lily said. Jane smiled.

"I'm Jane Dursley," Jane said. Hagrid's eyes got a bit cold.

"All right, come on in," he said to the pair. When Jane and Lily sat down, Hagrid looked at Jane. "So you're that great pig's daughter?" he asked.

"Excuse me?" Jane asked defensively.

"Yer father's Dudley righ'?" Hagrid asked.

"Yeah," Jane said, "Why did you call him a pig?"

"Cause he was at one point," Hagrid said.

"What are you talking about?" Lily asked.

"I guess yer father never talked about how his Aunt and Uncle treated him so badly. He used to live under the stairs in their house," Hagrid said to Lily, "Treated him like garbage. Kept him away from getting his letter. Her father used him as a punching bag."

"I guess this explains mom's glares at your father," Lily said. Jane was red in the face.

"Okay, my grandparents are not friendly to our kind. I get that. But my father is that type of person anymore," Jane said, "He's kind and decent, unlike you."

"What do you mean by that?" Hagrid asked.

"That stuff happened when my father was my age right? Are you the same person as when you were eleven?" Jane asked.

"No," Hagrid replied.

"Then how could you make the assumption my father was?" Jane demanded.

"Because of all the fattening up and pampering his parent's gave him. I wouldn't be surprised if he were too big for a bath," Hagrid said.

"I'll have you know my father was a champion boxer and only taught my brother Michael after Michael swore not to bully kids with it," Jane said, "You however, hold on to old views of people, judging them on what they were. You're very similar to the Slytherin girls in my year."

"How so?" Hagrid asked.

"They hate me for being Muggle-born and you hate me for being a Dursley," Jane said, "Everyone is prejudging me and I've had it." With that, Jane stood up and marched out the door.

As the door slammed behind Jane, she heard Lily say she'd see Hagrid later. Jane hurried down the steps and started towards the lake. When she reached the edge of it, she broke down crying. She heard footsteps and Lily saying, "I'm sorry Jane. I didn't know Hagrid would be that mean to you." Jane slowed and stopped her crying.

"It's all right, you can't control everyone," Jane said, wiping her tears from her red and puffy face, "I just seem to attract those who dislike me for some stupid reason."

"Hey, it's only your ﬁrst week," Lily said, "Don't worry. Things are bound to get better."

"Thanks Lily," Jane said, "So, what do you want to do now?"But as they were walking back to the castle, Hagrid appeared.

"Um, I'd like to apologize," Hagrid said, looking guilty, "What I said to yeh, I shouldn't have said it."

"You think?!" Jane asked the giant with a glare that made Hagrid feel small.

"I jus' assumed yeh'd be like that yer father. Sometimes some kids are like their parents," Hagrid said, "I thought yeh were part of that group."

"I am, thank you very much," Jane said, "But my father is nothing like what you remember. Write Cousin Harry if you want another view on it." She took a deep breath. She looked at her friend with a thousand candle smile and asked, "Where were we going again?"

"I don't know," Lily said, "We could look some stuff up in the library? I think we both have that paper for DADA"

"Sure," Jane said, "That can be fun." She turned to Hagrid. "Some ﬁrst impression we made with each other, huh?" she asked. Hagrid chuckled and waved them off. As she walked back to the school with Lily Jane thought, "It's going to be hard work. But I can make it here. I know I can."

Chapter 6 Flight and Fancies

"I still can't believe it," Robert muttered.

"Rob, it's been over a week now. Believe it. It happened," Jane said, eating some lunch.

"But how did it?" Robert asked again, "It makes no sense how so little got you that." His face was etched deep in thought and frustration.

"What are you two talking about?" Scorpius asked the younger students.

"Robert can't believe that I only wrote three sentences for my Defense Against the Dark Arts homework essay and got a 100 on it," Jane said. Scorpius choked on his tea.

"You're kidding me? What did you write?" Scorpius asked. Jane sighed. This was the umpteenth time she repeated her story: Lily and Sam wanted to know after seeing Robert sulk in class.

"I wrote, 'I have neither knowledge of the Dark Arts nor the defenses against them. I hope to learn about them and ways to combat them in this class. But until then, I have nothing else to write about for this paper.'" Jane quoted off the top of her head, "Hollis said it was cute." Scorpius couldn't believe those three sentences got her a 100, but it ﬁt the requirements of the assignment. He knew from personal experience.

"Interesting answer," Scorpius said, "Is that all he's sulking about?"

"No, he still hasn't ﬁgured out my riddle I gave him," Jane said.

"Please don't bring it up again," Robert said, "It makes no sense whatsoever."

"What is it?" Scorpius asked.

"Just tell me this: Is the following statement true or false?" Jane asked. "The statement is: This statement is false." Scorpius thought it over and smiled.

"You're evil," Scorpius said.

"That's what I told her last week," Robert said. But unlike Robert, Scorpius had a coy smile on his face.

He leaned close to Jane and whispered, "Neither." Jane gave a gasp and blushed.

"Dang, he got it really quick," she thought. Robert saw Jane's reaction.

"All right, what's the answer?" he asked.

"It's neither," Scorpius said, "That sentence is called a paradox. It can't be true or false without contradicting itself."

"How did you ﬁgure it out?" Jane asked.

"Read about them in an old Muggle book in the back of Flourish and Blotts a few years ago," Scorpius said, "Muggles can come up with some difﬁcult problems."

"I second that," Robert said. "So, is what I heard about Halloween true?"

"What did you hear?" Jane asked.

"They have a big feast and possibly a dance," Robert said.

"Is that true?" Jane asked.

"The feast yes," Scorpius answered, "The dance, that may not be true. It depends on Professor Flitwick's choice. We won't know until the evening before the feast. We had one two years ago, but not one last year."

"Oh I hope we have one this year!" Jane said happily.

"So, have you started ﬂying lessons yet?" Scorpius asked.

"We start today," Jane said, "It seems they started late because they needed to ﬁnd another Quidditch referee."

"Yeah, Madame Hooch ﬁnally retired last term," Scorpius said, "She may have been old, but she could spot a foul two Quidditch pitches away." Jane smiled and ﬁnished the last bit of her meal.

"Jane, we're going to be late for Defense Against the Dark Arts," Robert said, checking his watch.

"All right, see you Scorpius," Jane said. She and Robert walked off.

"Nice blush," Robert noted as they ascended the stairs.

"What do you mean?" Jane asked.

"You blushed a little when Scorpius was talking with us," Robert said, "You like him, don't you?" Jane looked at Robert.

"If I do, does that make you jealous?" Jane countered quickly. Robert gave an impassioned sigh.

"No," Robert said without looking into Jane's eyes, "It's your choice, that's all." The duo soon entered the classroom. They took their usual seats and waited for class to begin. When Darcy and Alice entered, Jane gave them a small smile. They returned with no glare, but a quickened pace.

"They seem to respect me more," Jane noted.

"I don't think they know how she got that massive nosebleed," Robert said, not looking up from a history book. "How are they in private?"

"Civilized," Jane said, "It seems we have an unspoken agreement between us: If they're civil with me, then I am with them and vice versa. I tend to favor this over their outright prejudice."

"Successful ambushes tend to do that," Robert said. Jane looked at him.

"You really like history, don't you?" Jane noted, "That's the third book on wizard battles, rebellions, or wars and you've taken out of the library."

"War interests me," Robert said, "And besides, I doubt I'll learn much from Binns. He's boring enough to make Peeves fall asleep." Jane cracked up at that one. The sound of a door closing stopped her quick. Robert put the library book away and took out his text book.

"Good afternoon class," Professor Hollis said walking forward, "Today we'll be continuing the overview of different Dark Creatures. As I have said before you'll be doing a deeper study on them in your third-year, so I won't go into too much detail". And Professor Hollis went on with the lecture, citing pictures and passages out of their text. When the bell rung Jane had a big smile on.

"Time for our ﬂying lesson," Jane said as they walked out of the classroom. She and Robert were in the lead of their ﬁrst-year Slytherin group. They soon made it into the court yard where class would be taking place. They spotted another crowd of ﬁrst-years waiting a head of them.

"Which house is that?" Jane asked.

"Looks like Gryfﬁndor," Robert said, "You can see Lily's hair." Jane looked closer and saw Lily standing next to a small boy, obviously it was Sam. They were standing next to brooms already laid out. There was another set of brooms on the other side of them.

"Hey," Lily said as Jane approached. Robert and Jane separated from their house and went to Sam and Lily.

"Hey Lily," Jane said, "How's your day going?"

"Good," Lily said, "A smart aleck Ravenclaw in class got moved up to the front."

"What happened?" Robert asked.

"He thought he knew more than Skylar," Sam said, "And so Skylar quizzed him harshly. He failed and had to sit in the front of class."

"I hope he doesn't learn his lesson," Robert said, thinking on how Ravenclaw House was in the lead at the moment.

"So, what's up with you?" Lily asked.

"Rob was sulking about my essay," Jane said.

"Yes, yes. We know I was sulking about that, but you have to move on," Robert said, looking around, "Have you guys seen the Professor yet?"

"No," Sam said.

"Maybe we can do this on our own," Alice said picking up a broom. But suddenly a person shot over their heads and landed at one end.

"Ms. Goyle," the man said, dismounting, "You should know that you are not allowed to touch the brooms without permission. Five points from your house." The other Slytherins glared at Alice. He looked over the tiny ﬁrst-years. "I am Mr. Wood, and I'll be your instructor." Alice raised her hand. "Yes, Ms. Goyle?"

"I didn't know we weren't allowed to touch them," Alice said.

"Did you see anyone else touching the brooms?" Wood asked.

"No," Alice said.

"Then why did you think you would be allowed?" Wood asked. Alice was saved from response when Jane raised her hand. "Yes Ms. Dursley?"

"Why were you a week late in starting this class?" Jane asked. There was a general agreement in wanting that questioned answered.

"I apologize," Wood said, "The team I played for, Puddlemere United, was participating in the United Kingdom Quidditch Cup Semi-ﬁnals. As their season ran late this year, I missed the last week following them as they went around the country."

"Did they win?" Jane asked.

"No, they lost to the Harpies," Wood said. Lily gave a small smile at that.

"That was mom's old team," Lily whispered to Jane.

"You are Lily Potter, right?" Wood asked Lily. She nodded. "You have your father's build. You should try out for your house team next year." He then gazed over his class. "Now, please stand next to a broom and put your right hand over it. Then, on my mark, say 'Up!'" The class did as instructed. "Mark," Wood said. There was a chorus of "Up!"s from the two houses. Robert's broom came up on his ﬁrst command, as did Lily's. Jane's took the third try and Sam's just rolled over a few times before coming up. By that time, everyone else had ﬁnished. Then Wood went over how to mount and grip the boom and ensure that they didn't fall off it during ﬂight.

"Now," Wood said to his students, "When I blow my whistle, I want you to kick off the ground hard, lean forward, hover for a second and come back to the ground." The entire class was excited. When Wood blew his whistle, Jane did as instructed.

"Oh my goodness," raced through Jane's mind as she hovered. Those few seconds gave her such release. Even though she set back down right after, the joy from her brief ﬂight made her heart rush with excitement. "That's better than a roller coaster," Jane thought as Wood went on.

"Good," he said, "Next we'll try to move in a straight line forward. I'll separate you into small groups so you don't get hurt. Those not ﬂying keep off your brooms or else you'll be manually cleaning the Quidditch pitch poles." He counted groups. He separated Jane and Lily into Alice and Darcy's pair. Robert and Sam got another Slytherin and Gryfﬁndor in their four-man group.

"This is a really fun class," Lily said to Jane. Jane could only nod with a smile as she watched the ﬁrst group do as instructed. Then Robert and Sam's group went. The third group went, leaving Jane's to the last. Finally Professor Wood called them up. They made a line, with about two feet in between them.

"On my whistle, ﬂy straight forward. Do not try to rise up. All right, ready?" he asked. With the sharp call of the whistle, the four girls kicked off and hovered forward. The rush and joy quickly returned to Jane. She had to ﬁght her temptation to go faster or rise up. She was greatly depressed when she soon reached the landing point. As the four set down, the class bell rung. "Leave your brooms where they are," Wood said, "I'll collect them." The class did as instructed and returned the class talking about how they loved, liked, or didn't feel comfortable on the broom.

"It's all right," Sam said, "I think I'll get the hang of it. My broom just seemed off."

"It was a school broom," Robert said, "It's likely they're old and may not be the best anymore."

"I loved it," Jane said, "It felt so free, so natural."

"That's how dad and mum described it," Lily said. "I can't wait to try out next year for the Gryfﬁndor team."

"Didn't your father play in his ﬁrst year?" Sam asked.

"To be honest, I don't know," Lily said, "It still freaks me out that you know more about my parents than me."

"You could pick up a history book," Sam said, which Lily rolled her eyes at. Jane took it as this was not the ﬁrst time they spoke of this matter.

"Maybe her parents didn't want her to be an arrogant, egotistical brat?" Robert said, looking at Sam, "Knowing who they were and how they helped change the world would easily turn a child's head. It's probable that her parents didn't until she and her brothers could take it."

"That sounds like my parents," Lily said, "I can see them doing that, especially with James."

"Smart move in the end," Jane noted.

"I guess," Sam said, defeated. The friends ﬁnally made it back to the castle and went in for dinner.

"You want to work together on Skylar's Potions essay after dinner?" Jane asked Lily and Sam

"Sure," Lily said, "See you two at the library then." Sam nodded.

"See you then," Jane said. Robert gave a farewell nod. The two pairs departed to their dinners.

Chapter 7 Birds of a Feather

Time for Jane seemed to be moving quickly. As she lay in her warm bed, she thought how it felt like only yesterday she had come to this school, and just a day before that, she met her father's cousin.

"Freaky," Jane muttered as she got out and dressed for the cold weather. "Downside to this dorm room is I can't see the weather outside," Jane thought as she pulled a jacket on. Darcy and Alice were still in bed, but then again, they usually slept in on Saturdays. Jane walked into the common room and found Robert reading The First War Against the Dark Lord Voldemort: A Synopsis of major events and battles by Jarod Cillian

"Hey Robert," Jane said with a smile on her face. He looked up at her.

"I'd ask why you're smiling, but after knowing you for a month and a half, I can usually guess as to why," Robert said, marking his place in the book.

"Oh and why am I today?" Jane asked.

"You're seeing your ﬁrst Quidditch match today and you'll be seeing Scorpius play," Robert said, in a businesslike tone.

"He's a friend," Jane said, "Of course I'm excited to see him play. I'd be excited to see you play, if you were old enough."

"Is that meant to be an incentive to try out for next year's team?" Robert asked.

"Only if you see it as one," Jane replied. Robert gave a quiet laugh and got up. The pair exited the common room and went to breakfast.

"After the game, may I borrow your History notes?" Robert asked.

"Why would you need my notes?" Jane asked coyly, "You seem to love history a lot."

"I do," Robert said, "But as you know, I prefer battles and reading about war. The legal area is not my forte. Besides I wasn't the one who mixed up the planets with each other was I?"

"No, you weren't," Jane said, thinking on how she switched up the order of the planets on their latest star chart for Professor Vega. Robert showed her mistake and she was able to ﬁx it quickly.

"So, may I?" Robert asked again as they entered the Great Hall.

"I guess," Jane said as they found some seats and started eating. They ate quietly until Robert noted something.

"You're staring again," he said, not even looking at Jane as she broke her eyes away from her target, again.

"What do you mean?" Jane asked with a slightly red face.

"You were staring at Scorpius as he's eating with his teammates," Robert said, "You really do have a crush on him, don't you?"

"No," Jane replied. "I really hate how Robert sees through me like a pane of glass," Jane thought diving back to her cereal.

"Right and Alastor Moody would welcome strangers into his house without protection," Robert said.

"Who?" Jane asked.

"An old Auror who became very paranoid in his later years. Rarely ate what someone gave him without some inspection of it," Robert said, "In other words, not very likely."

"Oh, well use something I can understand," Jane said sharply.

"I didn't realize you'd become illiterate," Robert said, "Wasn't it last week you told me you wanted to learn more on your father's cousin? I told you the name of a book to look in. Moody's in that book as well. You sometimes remind me of Darcy and Alice." He stood up and left his plate half-full. "I'll see you at the match." Robert left Jane to ﬁnish her meal.

"What was that all about?" Jane thought, "It could not just have been about me not knowing who that 'Moody' man was. He always gets tense when I talk about or look at Scorpius. Who can understand some guys?"

By the time Jane ﬁnished her meal, the Quidditch teams had left. She got up slowly and walked out to the pitch. When she got there, she looked around. "Okay, where would Robert be?" she thought, "I need to talk to him about what happened." But her mission was interrupted by a call from behind. Jane turned and saw Lily, Sam, Rae and Ray coming toward her with a black girl she didn't recognize.

"Hey Lily," Jane said.

"Hey," Lily said, she noticed Robert's absence. "Where's Robert?"

"Oh, he went on a head to ﬁnd seats," Jane lied.

"All right," Lily said, before the unknown girl gave a cough.

"Oh, forgive us," Rae said smiling.

"This is Katherine Jordan," Ray said, "Fred's . . ." But Ray couldn't speak. His mouth moved, but nothing came out. The twins and company looked at Katherine. Jane noticed how she was an extremely beautiful girl. Her black hair just brushed against her shoulders. Her wand was pointed at the male twin.

"We are very good friends," Katherine said in a strict tone, "We are not dating."

"Just hanging out and acting like you are," Rae said, but quieted down upon Katherine's glare. Katherine looked at Jane.

"So you're the Slytherin girl who makes friends across the boundaries?" Katherine asked with a smile, "Impressive. As the munchkins said, I'm Katherine Jordan." She put out her hand and Jane shook it.

"Jane Dursley," Jane said, "Where's Fred?"

"He's commentating on the match," Katherine said, "We'll we have to ﬁnd our seats. I'd wish your team good luck, but that would be a lie." She then left.

"See you later," Lily said as they went on to the Gryfﬁndor section. Jane walked around and found the entrance to the Slytherin sections. She climbed the stairs to the viewing boxes.

"Wow," Jane said as she got her ﬁrst look at the pitch. She saw most of the other students were coming into their sections. Jane turned away and looked around for Robert. She soon found him, reading the book he had earlier. She sat down next to him.

"What's with your attitude?" Jane asked promptly.

"What do you mean?" Robert asked.

"Your stiffness and discontent whenever I mention Scorpius Malfoy," Jane said.

"It's annoying after a while," Robert said, closing his book staring into the pitch, "You barely know him. And whenever you do talk, he seems to look down on you. It seems like he only sees you as a friend."

"I know," Jane said, "But that doesn't stop my feelings for him. It might end up hurting me, but right now, I don't care."

"Girls," Robert sighed, "Sometimes you really make no sense."

"You guys are no different," Jane said. Both started to laugh at the other. The atmosphere became lighter with those laughs. The duo waited for the game to start.

"Here come the teams," Jane said. She watched as fourteen boys and girls, some were clad in red and gold, others were in silver and green, walked to the middle of the pitch.

"There's Albus," Jane said, noticing his untidy black hair from above.

"And there's Scorpius," Robert said. Mr. Wood soon came out, holding a box. Jane watched as the two captains of the teams walked forward and shook hands. Everyone mounted their brooms and Wood kicked open the box. Two black small spheres shot out. And Jane thought she caught a glimpse of the Snitch. Suddenly, Wood blew his whistle and threw the Quafﬂe up into the air. The game was on.

Jane watched with amazement as the six chasers maneuvered around each other, passing the ball to their teammates, with the occasional interception and interference from a well-hit Bludger. Albus looked calm and collected in the Keeper's box. Neither side had scored.

"And there's a well-hit Bludger from the Slytherin Beater, Beth Smith, giving her team control of the Quafﬂe," Fred Weasley commented, with a slight lament. Jane and Robert cheered with their house. "It is retrieved by Scorpius Malfoy. He dodges the other Bludger and is in scoring range. He throws . . . But Potter saves it by the skin of his teeth! Looks like Malfoy's a bit angry on that one." Jane also saw Scorpius' angered face.

"Wow, guess the rivalry is on this year," Jane said.

"You mean between the houses?" Robert asked.

"What? Oh, no," Jane said as a Gryfﬁndor Chaser was getting closer to the Slytherin Keeper. "On the train, I heard that Scorpius and Albus Potter, Lily's older brother, have a rivalry, seeing who the better player is."

"Ah," Robert said as the Gryfﬁndors cheered as they scored the ﬁrst goal.

The game was very tight in scoring. Scorpius was able to make a goal, tying the game. Both Seekers continued searching for the illusive Snitch. Nearly an hour had passed and both were circling above and below the main action. Occasionally, one would spot it and go after it. The other would give chase, and both would end up chasing it for a few minutes until a Bludger, either on its own accord or forced towards them by a Beater, would distract them just long enough to lose sight of the golden ball.

"The game is getting tense," Robert said as the atmosphere became thicker.

"That tends to happen when the Snitch plays hard to get even better than it normally does," a slender ﬁfth-year girl with black sleek hair, said from behind the duo. "I'm Raven, Raven Higgs," she added, "My brother, Matthew, is playing Seeker." Suddenly, Raven screamed, "IT"S BENEATH YOUR FEET YOU BLOODY FOOL!" Jane turned her attention and saw where the Snitch was. It was hiding between Matthew's feet. Matthew didn't seem to notice. Thankfully, neither did the Gryfﬁndor Seeker. "I still can't believe he beat me for this position."

"You were the Seeker?" Jane asked, turning from the

"Yeah," Raven said, "Up until this year. Over the summer, I grew several inches. It ended up costing me my position as I wasn't as fast as I was before. And now my brother is Seeker, a real block-head one as well." Jane nodded and looked back. Matthew had ﬁnally looked down and saw the Snitch zoom away. The Gryfﬁndor Seeker was now moving to catch it. Higgs put on the speed and both were moving like the wind.

"And there go both Seekers, after the Snitch," Fred shouted. The entire crowd was watching. Suddenly Jane heard a loud smack and an eruption of screams from the Gryfﬁndor side.

"What happened?" Jane asked Robert.

"Don't know," Robert said.

"Matt took a Bludger to the face and the Gryfﬁndor Seeker, Johnson, was able to catch the Snitch," Raven commented.

"Gryfﬁndor WINS!" Wood yells, blowing his whistle.

"And there's the game!" Fred screamed over the roar of excitement, "It looked like a slightly off hit from his own Beater cost Higgs the game. Wow, I really must say, 'Thank you to you Ms. Smith!'" The Beth looked like she wanted to jinx Fred for that comment.

"Well, it was a good game," Raven said, "He didn't do as bad as I expected. But that Beater and I will have a little chat. Unlucky for her, she's in my dorm room." Robert and Jane laughed, until they noted how serious Raven's face was.

"You're joking, right?" Robert asked.

"Depends on my mood later," Raven said getting up.

"Wow," Jane said noting Raven's height, "You are tall. Are you sure it was a few inches?" Raven sighed.

"Yes," she said, "I blame my mum's side. No one is short there."

"How tall are you?" Robert asked.

"Five-eleven, maybe more by next year," Raven said, "It's all in my legs. Hold on, I introduced myself, but who are you two?"

"Robert Flint," Robert said.

"Jane Dursley," Jane said.

"Oh, the duo who gave that Goyle girl with some poison causing a massive nosebleed," Raven said.

"Hey, there is no evidence showing we had any cause to that," Robert said.

"Besides, it's what you get from picking it," Jane said. Raven laughed.

"I wasn't implying anything," Raven said, looking over the two as they stood up. "If you get a good enough broom, you might be a good Seeker, Jane."

"Really?" Jane asked, with a smile.

"Yes," Raven said, "I was only just over your height when I started in my second year." Jane was giddy from the compliment. Robert just noted the nearly ten-inch difference between the two girls.

"And you might be a good Beater," Raven said to Robert.

"Who knows? I might just be," Robert said. He smiled from the compliment. Then quickly said, "Excuse me. I need to go."

"Hmm, why?" Jane asked.

"Bathroom," was all Robert said before bolting down the steps.

"He's cute," Raven said, as she and Jane walked down the steps "If he were only a few years older."

"By all means," Jane said.

"No, that would ruin your fun," Raven said.

"What do you mean by that?" Jane asked, stopping a few steps behind Raven, so they were looking eye-to-eye.

"You'll ﬁnd out later," Raven said. She giggled and said, "Now, since we're friends, next week is the ﬁrst trip to Hogsmeade. If you want anything, I'll get it for you at cost."

"Really?" Jane asked. When Raven nodded, Jane gave her a hug. "Thanks!" Jane said quickly before releasing.

"Welcome," Raven said, "Now I need to go see how my brother's nose is doing. See you later."

"See you, I need to ﬁnd Robert so he can copy some of my notes," Jane said as they exited. Raven said nothing, but had a coy smile on her face.

Chapter 8: Dances and Dunces

Three weeks had passed since the opening of the Quidditch season at Hogwarts School and Jane had seen her second match: Ravenclaw against Hufﬂepuff. It was a close match with Hufﬂepuff just winning by a hair. Jane was laying on her bed in her dormitory. She had ﬁnally taken up Robert's suggestion and looked up information on Harry Potter. She quietly chewed some gum Raven had gotten her from the last Hogsmeade trip.

"I should save a packet of this Drooble's gum for Michael for Christmas," Jane thought as she tried, but failed again at making a bubble. She turned the page in the book she was reading. It contained many theories on how Harry was able to defeat Voldemort. Jane had a guess many were off the mark. "Maybe I'll just write him and ask myself?" Jane thought, "I'd probably get more truth from there than this book or that other one by that Skeeter woman." Jane casually checked her watch and rubbed her eyes. It was past midnight. While she didn't have classes the next morning as it was Saturday, she could only keep her self awake for her Astronomy classes. So Jane marked the page she was on and closed up the book.

She was excited about tomorrow, for that was when Professor Flitwick would say if there would be a dance on Halloween or just a normal feast. Soon, she dosed off and found herself in the Great Hall. She was wearing a pale blue dress and she slowly approached Scorpius.

"May I have this next dance?" she asked quietly. Scorpius looked down at her and smiled.

"Of course," he replied, "It would be an honor to dance with you." With that, he took Jane's hand and they began to waltz around the room. Jane was having fun as they passed Sam and Lily together, and Fred was with Katherine. Soon all the dancers were gone, save this pair. Jane looked deep into Scorpius' eyes and sighed.

"This is the best day ever," she thought before leaned her head onto Scorpius' chest and relaxed. She was at more peace than ever before. Slowly she looked back at her partner's face, but in place of Scorpius' head was Robert's head. Robert looked at Jane. "Something wrong?" he asked, smiling with a smile Jane had never seen him smile before.

Jane snapped up and awoke from her sleep. "What was that?" she wondered before falling back to sleep. By the next morning, Jane would have forgotten the dream.

"You all right, Jane?" Robert asked Jane as they ate breakfast.

"Yeah, just a rough night sleep," Jane said, "I wish I could remember what the dreams were about." Jane looked around. "So, want to get working on Solon's essay?" she asked Robert after a quick yawn.

"Might as well," Robert said, "Work in the common room then?"

"Fine with me," Jane said, "Too cold outside now." Robert nodded in agreement. The previous night was accompanied by a bitter frost over the grounds. Grey clouds showed on the ceiling as the pair got up and walked back to the common room.

"E Pluribus Unum," Robert said to the wall guarding the common room. It moved aside quickly, and Jane and Robert entered. For a moment, Jane's eyes wandered and they came across the bulletin board in the corner. There was a new notice that wasn't there before. Jane wandered over as Robert went to get his books.

Jane became much more awake upon realizing this was info on what tomorrow night's event was going to be. "'Attention students'," Jane said as she read the paper, "'It has been decided that there will be a dance tomorrow night. However, it is only for students in their third year and above. Only if a second or ﬁrst year is invited as the date of an older year, may they come. Those not attending will have their dinner in their common room. Have a nice day, Professor Flitwick, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.'" Jane reread the second to last sentence. "That sucks," she concluded.

"What does?" Robert asked, arriving at her side.

"There is a dance, but we can't go unless someone invites us," Jane said, turning around, hiding her displeasure under a smile.

"You're right, it does," Robert said, "Still want to work on this?"

"Yeah," Jane said. The essay work went slow, due mainly to Jane's mind wandering from disappointment. Eventually, they were done and both stretched their arms.

"Well that essay was fun," Robert said.

"Yeah," Jane said, turning to pop her back when she saw Scorpius enter the common room alone. "Be right back," Jane said before getting up and leaving. Robert saw where she was heading and shook his head. Jane walked slowly over to Scorpius. Her heart was racing fast. "Hey Scorpius," Jane said, smiling.

"Oh, hey Jane," Scorpius said, smiling, "Sorry to hear you're not allowed to come to the dance."

"Yeah," Jane agreed, "So, why are you smiling? Got a date for it?" "Please God, say no," Jane thought behind her smile.

"Actually I do," Scorpius said. Janes's eyes opened in momentary shock, and kept her smile ﬁxed on her face.

"Really? Who might that be?" Jane asked kindly.

"A Ravenclaw girl I've liked for a while," Scorpius said, "I just got the courage to ask her."

"That's great," Jane said, her inner mind was wanted for her to run away, but she still stayed next to Scorpius.

"Thanks," Scorpius said, "You know, you inspired me to try."

"Oh, and how could I of done that?" Jane asked, "I'm just a ﬁrst year."

"You're a muggle-born who fought against a lot of insults prejudices your ﬁrst weeks here. Because of that I thought, 'Come on, if she can survive here then you can go ask a girl out.' So, thank Jane for your help."

"You are quite welcome," Jane said, still smiling and Scorpius still ignorant of the inner pain Jane was going through, "I hope you have a nice evening." With that Jane walked away, slowly and using a great deal of control over her body. Only Robert saw through this ruse. He gave a heavy sigh and packed up their bags. He intercepted Jane as she was walking to her dormitory.

"Come on, we should ﬁnish up Meriwether's essay in the Library," Robert said, before whispering, "Alice and Darcy just went in there. I doubt you want them to see you like this." Jane looked in Robert's eyes, closing hers and with a deep sigh.

"You're right, they won't get done on its own," Jane said, smiling. With that, she turned and walked out of the common room. Robert followed her curtly, but not without looking at Scorpius.

"Cunning dunces, the both of them," Robert thought as he left the common room.

Once they left the common room, Robert took the lead and led Jane to an empty Potions' classroom. Jane sat down on a desk.

"God, I'm such a fool" Jane said, "Doing what I just did."

"Yes, yes you are," Robert replied, looking down.

"You're supposed to console me after what just happened," Jane said.

"Really?" Robert asked, "Well, you did act like a fool for not seeing him never looking at you the way you look at him and he's a fool for not realizing your intentions for that talk. So, I think I'll help by letting you beat up on your self."

"What a true friend," Jane said sarcastically.

"Would you rather I make fun of you about this?" Robert asked.

"No, I'd jinx you if you did," Jane said.

"Then I'm being your friend," Robert said, "So, it looked like you received the let down pretty early on. What happened?"

"Oh, well he does have someone he's taking. She's in Ravenclaw and get this: I helped him work up the courage to ask her out!" Jane exclaimed, laughing a bit, "How pathetic is that?" Robert looked at Jane and shook his head.

"You are far from pathetic," Robert said, "You came into this house and stood on your own. You make try make friends with everyone and that takes courage. That courage can inspire others to do things they wouldn't have done before."

"That sounds more like a Gryfﬁndor than a Slytherin," Jane commented, still depressed.

"Yes, but you are also extremely cunning and can be very ruthless to your enemies," Robert said, "You know the rules and know how to bend them. You also know when to throw them out all together. That type of intelligence is pure Slytherin. And so what if Scorpius doesn't see you in a romantic way? There are other possibilities. I mean, you are just eleven. No need to hurry." Jane looked at Robert and stood up.

"Thanks Robert," Jane said before hugging him, "You are a really good friend." Her head pressed against his chest and he reciprocated the hug. His cheeks slowly reddening. Jane broke off the hug, and looked Robert in the eyes. "One day you'll make a girl really happy with those words of yours, I know it," Jane said, turning to leave, "Let's get library to do some of that essay anyway."

"And in the end, you can be such a dunce," Robert muttered, as he followed in Jane's wake, smiling.

Chapter 9: Home for Christmas

"I don't like saying it, but Solon is evil," Jane said, as she scribbled words to the parchment before her.

"Then don't say it," Robert said, as he worked on his own essay.

"But it is three pages long," Jane said, "And for the last class before break too."

"Well, maybe if someone hadn't had poor practical results, Solon wouldn't have assigned it to us," Robert said, looking at Jane.

"Sorry I got you noticed," Jane said. Part of her still laughed at how she failed on their latest assignment in Transﬁguration. She just couldn't get the hang of what they were doing lately in class. And as a result, Professor Solon had assigned both her and Robert essays. Jane was on the importance of pronunciation and wand movement in Transﬁguration and Charms, with slight comparing and contrasting to the best of her abilities. And Robert had to write on the importance of not reading a recreational reading book during class. Jane could understand her essay, excluding the length. But Robert had ﬁnished his in class practical work and took the book out in the last ﬁve minutes. Jane noticed Robert putting his quill down.

"That was far from enjoyable," Robert said, rolling his neck.

"What did you say?" Jane asked, as she reached the bottom of her second page.

"I argued that a book that would teach me something I didn't know was not just recreational, but educational as well. I also asked how reading an educational book in a classroom could be wrong, since that book had information on the class it was read in," Robert said, picking up the book, Practical Usage of Four Basic Magical Subjects in Combat Situationsby Athena Riley.

"I thought you have only reached the section on herbology?" Jane asked.

"I have," Robert said, opening the book, "But I felt my location in the book is a moot point."

"I bet Solon wouldn't feel that way," Jane said, "But he won't hear how far you are in it from me."

"Thanks Jane," Robert said, "So still going home from Christmas?" Jane nodded.

"Yeah, I want to see how my mum's coming along," Jane said, thinking back to the letter where she was told she'd be a big sister. "Plus, I have some gifts for my brother," Jane said. She looked at her friend for a moment. "Why aren't you going home for holiday?"

"Well, truthfully, I don't really want to," Robert said, "I want to get some reading done over break as well and bringing books home wouldn't be very smart."

Jane asked. Robert nodded. Neither of them wanted to learn the punishment for damaging school books. The rumors alone were enough to stiﬂe anyone's desire to deface a book. "Well, I hope you have a wonderful Christmas Robert," Jane said, giggling as she checked her watch.

"What's so funny?" Robert asked.

"I'm done with the paper," Jane said, "And it only took all of three hours."

"So, no time for you in the end then?" Robert asked, smiling.

"Nope," Jane said.

Snow-covered mountains whipped by as the Hogwarts Express headed back to London. Jane smiled thinking of seeing her family again for the ﬁrst time in four months. She was wondering how her parents were doing and how Michael did in school as well. It was a voice from behind her that brought her back to reality.

"Jane," Lily said again, "It's your turn." Jane looked back at the group she was playing cards with. Jane picked up a card.

"All right," Jane said, putting down her cards, "Gin." Albus dropped his hand. Hugo was also miffed. Rose tossed her cards down as well. Lily was smiling, as she had decided not to play this game with them.

"Remind me never to play this card game with you again," Rose said.

"Well, you were the one who suggested we play it and do some betting," Albus said, reminding his cousin.

"Al, don't remind me," Rose said. Why she had taken the bet to begin with, she didn't know. But knowing Jane, she'd call the payment right now.

"Right, so I believe the deal was for some bit of information of us we didn't already know," Jane said, looking at the three debtors, "So from Rose and Albus, who did you take to the Halloween Dance? And Hugo, who do you have a crush on?" All three became very red in the face.

"Isn't that a bit private?" Hugo asked.

"Well, we didn't say what was off limits," Jane said, smiling. All three exchanged glances.

"Lily. Out," Albus said to his sister.

"Hey, I want to know as well," Lily said.

"Then you should of played," Jane said. Lily looked at her friend.

"Fine," Lily said, "I'll just ﬁnd out later." She rose and left the train compartment. The four were now alone.

"No one else will know this?" Rose asked with a red faced.

"Yes," Jane said. She looked at Hugo. "You ﬁrst," Lily said.

"Megan Smith," Hugo said, quietly. Jane recognized it as a ﬁrst year Hufﬂepuff. Albus and Rose were ignorant to whom she was. Lily looked at Albus.

"I didn't take anyone," Albus said, embarrassed, "The one I asked was already taken."

"Who was it?" Rose asked.

"Not telling," Albus said, "But I know you had someone. You disappeared soon after the start with some guy."

"How did you know that?" Rose asked.

"Fred saw you," Albus said. Rose went as red as her hair.

"I'm going to kill him," Rose said. Rose looked around at the present company before leaning to Jane's ear and whispered, "Scorpius." Jane's eyes went wide with this revelation. She started chuckling.

"Hey, she can't do that!" Hugo said, glaring at his sister.

"Well, the deal was for you to tell me the name and no one would tell who it was," Jane said, "So neither of you had to say it so openly. You just chose to." Albus was going to argue until he saw Rose was truly embarrassed from telling Jane, far more than she had been a moment before speaking.

"Fine," Albus said.

"But," Hugo said before his sister cut him off.

"Thanks Albus," Rose said. "And Hugo, don't tell mum or dad about this, or I'll write Megan and tell her some of those things only siblings know, understand?" Hugo looked at his sister.

"Yes Rose," Hugo said, sitting back.

"So, another game of Gin?" Jane asked.

"NO!" all three responded quickly. Then the four started laughing at how they responded.

The great red train slowed to a stop as it reached Platform 9 and 3/4. Jane stood and reached for her trunk.

"Here," Rose said, pulling it down for Jane.

"Thanks," Jane said, pulling it into the corridor. Slowly, she, Lily, and the others made their way off the train. Jane, Lily, and Hugo went through the magical barrier back to the Muggle world. Jane's eyes darted around until she found her father. Dudley Dursley was standing next Harry and Ron. All their wives were not there. Jane smiled and ran to her father. "Dad!" Jane yelled as she ran to her father. She dropped her trunk and hugged her father as best she could.

"You've gotten taller," Dudley said as his little girl hugged him.

"Well, they really feed you poorly at school," Jane said, seeing James was kind enough to pick up her trunk.

"So, where's mum?" James asked his father. With Albus' arrival, the three adults started leading the children out of the train station to their cars.

"We were invited to a dinner at Jane's," Harry said to his son, "So your mother is there helping Mrs. Dursley prepare the food."

"Mum there also?" Rose asked Ron.

"No, she said she had some last minute work to do at the Ministry," Ron said, "She'd meet us there."

They came to the three cars and Jane entered into the front passenger side of her father's. Jane saw Dudley put the trunk in the back seat.

"And this time I'm following you!" Dudley yelled at Ron. Dudley then walked to the driver's side and entered. "So, how was school?" Dudley asked starting the engine, "You're letters got so few after September."

"Sorry dad," Jane said, "Things just got so busy with school work and doing reading on cousin Harry. Robert gave me some good books to read."

"Robert, he's the bloke who's in your year, right?" Dudley asked.

"Yeah, my ﬁrst friend outside of the family," Jane said, "He really enjoys reading. He also defended me from some of the other girls."

"And why would you need that?" Dudley asked. Unknown to Jane, Dudley and Emily had received several reports on what had been happening at Hogwarts. Their children weren't as forgetful in writing home.

"Just normal kid stuff," Jane said.

"I heard you had to use some of my boxing skills on a girl," Dudley said, "What happened?" Jane looked at her father with a bit of fear. Not only did he know she could box now, if he ever found out she had taken revenge on Alice and Darcy, it would be her hide.

"They called me a mudblood. I called them ignorant since I didn't know what that meant. One attacked me from behind physically and I punched her," Jane said quickly. "The head of my house docked each of us points for it." She hoped she had said enough so he wouldn't punish her.

"I see," Dudley said, as he continued driving on. His face gave nothing away and Jane disliked that. "Well, Michael came home yesterday. He's been waiting to see you." Jane gave a sigh of relief.

"I also want to see him," Jane said, "I have loads to tell him."

"And nothing else for your father?" Dudley asked.

"Not until we get home so I don't have to talk about it again with mom," Jane said.

"All right," Dudley said, chuckling at his daughter's response.

The Dursley house had rarely been this active before. But with two visiting families things were quickly getting stuffy. As a result, the thirteen people broke up into smaller groups without realizing it. The six adults took the kitchen and dining room, talking about work and raising kids. Albus, James, Rose and Michael were in the living room. And the three ﬁrst-years were in Jane's room.

"It feels like a lifetime since I was in here," Jane said, sitting on her old bed.

"I like the feel of your room," Lily said, looking around.

"Thanks," Jane said.

"So, who do you is your least favorite professor?" Higo asked, sitting at a chair near the desk. Jane and Lily thought for a minute.

"I have to say Professor Longbottom," Lily said, "He's kind, considerate, and really funny in class."

"I like Professor Hollis," Hugo said, "She really knows her stuff on the Dark Arts. Plus she passed the Aurora's examinations."

"She did?" Jane asked.

"Yeah, I heard dad talk about her once, saying that she worked for about a year before the teaching position became open and she took that," Lily said.

"Well I like Skylar. She's stern, but fair. Plus, she doesn't have favorites," Jane said.

"You realize we each just picked the heads of our houses as our favorites?" Hugo asked. Both girls laughed at this realization. Then there was a knock at the door. Jane rose and answered it.

"Hey Michael," Jane said. Michael looked down at his sister, but not as far as he once had to.

"Hey Squirt," Michael said, "Mum said dinner's ready."

"Okay," Jane said as her two friends rose to leave the room. "Let's go."

The party's dinner passed with relative ease. Emily, now in her fourth month, was showing and Jane would take any chance she got to rub the growing belly. As they sat and ate the main course, Jane asked questions about the pregnancy.

"So mum, are you having a boy or girl?" Jane asked.

"Your father and I decided not to ﬁnd out now," Emily said.

"So, how was morning sickness?" Lily asked. Ginny looked at her daughter.

"Lily, don't ask that," Ginny said.

"But cousin Victoire said it was one of the worst things she ever went through," Lily said, "I was just wondering how Mrs. Dursley's morning sickness went."

"It's all right Ginny," Emily said, "In all of my pregnancies; I never suffered that much from morning sickness."

"Lucky," Ginny said quietly.

"When is the due date?" Jane asked.

"Oh about a week before you get back from school in June," Emily said.

"So it'll be home by the time I get home!" Jane said excitedly.

"It should be," Emily said, smiling at her daughter. The rest of dinner passed smoothly. Rose did turn red once again when the dance was brought up by the adults. Soon after dessert was ﬁnished and the dishes were cleaned up, thanks in part to a little magic, both the Weasley and Potter families departed from the Dursley residence. Jane bid farewell to her friends. With things mostly cleaned up, the four Dursleys sat in the living room.

"What a night," Emily said, smiling at her two children, "Making all that food was a nightmare. Well, at least Mrs. Potter helped out."

"The food was great mum," Jane said, sitting next to her mother and would-be born sibling. "I saw my sibling liked it a lot as well."

"Yes, it does like a lot of food," Emily said.

"That's a blessing and curse at the same time," Dudley said.

"How so?" Michael asked.

"Well, your mum tends to get desires for various foods now," Dudley answered his son, "And usually in the middle of night."

"Hey, I told you to get the pudding mixes the last time we went shopping," Emily said, "But you said no, you doubted I'd get an urge for it."

"What happened next?" Jane asked.

"At 3:42 a.m., I woke and had a desire for pudding," Emily said, "And your father knew this was no act on my part. So he drove off to the store to get some instant stuff." The two kids laughed before yawning. "It looks like we're all a bit tired," Emily said, "Come on, up to bed, both of you."

"Yes mum," both children said, before walking up the stairs.

"Night Michael," Jane said, hugging her brother, "It is good being home."

"Night Jane," Michael said, "I missed you as well." The two separated and went to their rooms and the soft beds within.

Chapter 10: Grey Times

Jane opened her eyes and looked around her room. It had not changed much since she last slept in it last August. Mercury was resting peacefully in his cage. It was comforting to have Mercury in her room. She had grown used to hearing the sounds of people breathing while she slept. Her eyes went to the small bank on her dresser. She had exchanged some pounds into Wizarding money before school started. But to do what she hoped to do before Christmas would require much more of her funds.

A whistling noise came from downstairs and Jane slid out of bed. Quietly walking down the steps, she saw her mother was up at the early hour of 7 in the morning. In her hands was a cup of tea.

"Morning Mom," Jane said as she entered. Her mother took a sip as one hand rubbed her large belly. She sighed in contentment and noticed her daughter.

"How was your sleep Jane?" Emily took another sip. Jane nodded.

"Mom, I was hoping to do some shopping today for Christmas," Jane said. Emily nodded.

"Well, I think I can drive you to a shop," Emily said, "How about after lunch?"

"Actually, I was thinking of looking for something from Diagon Alley to get for you," Jane explained. "And I ﬁgured I would need one of my cousin's help on this." Emily nodded.

"The your father will have to drive you to the Leaky Cauldron," Emily said.

"You don't trust Cousin Harry or Ginny to keep a close eye on me?" Jane asked.

"Not if he might be taking his children with him," Emily said, "Besides maybe your father and I have plans on getting something from there as well." Her voice dropped off as Jane's eyes went wide. "Let me give your father a call." Emily rose slowly and walked to the phone.

"Hello Alice. Is Dudley available?" Emily asked. She paused. "Hello yourself. You know what we were planning on getting for Jane?" She paused again. "Yes that. Well our daughter wanted to get something from there." Another pause. "No, I don't know what. But it is her money." Emily nodded. "All right, I'll have her write up a letter to Ginny and see when she's available." She turned off the phone. She looked back to her daughter. Jane was no longer there and rushed steps up the stairs could be heard.

As Jane rushed up the steps, Michael stuck his head out of his room. "Hey, why are you so excited?" he asked.

"I'm going to write Ginny to see if she would be willing to go with Dad and me to do some Christmas shopping at Diagon Alley," Jane said. Michael's eyes widened.

"Wow. Are you planning on getting something for mum or Dad?" Michael asked.

"Both," Jane said.

"Okay, how much do you have?" Michael asked.

"£40," Jane said.

"I have £50 I was planning on buying their presents with," Michael said, "Want to pool our money?"

"Sure," Jane said as Michael went in and came back with the funds.

"Get them something really nice," Michael said.

The day remained clear and no snow came to the city. Jane once more rode with her father. He was still in his business suit as he drove to the Leaky Cauldron.

"Dad, at Smeltings, are students permitted pets?" Jane asked. Dudley chanced a glance at his daughter.

"You need to be approved to use keep them," Dudley said "But they cannot be something like an owl, if that's what you're planning to get your brother."

"I wasn't," Jane answered, "I was thinking on something smaller."

"What exactly are you planning on getting him?" Dudley said.

"I'll show you at the shop," Jane said, looking out the window as they came onto the street with the Cauldron. Standing outside in a rose-red robe was Ginny. Dudley parked and the pair got out and walked to their cousin.

"Hi Ginny," Jane said as she approached her cousin.

"It's good to see you as well," Ginny said. Her gaze turned to Dudley. "Nice suit."

"Your robes are nice as well. I just got out of work and we drove right here," Dudley explained as the three entered.

"Same with me," Ginny said, "I just had to ﬁnish writing an article on how the Cannons are actually doing well this year." She turned her gaze to the excited girl.

"Now why couldn't you have just come with both of your parents Jane?" Ginny asked.

"Because I wanted what I was getting them to be a surprise," Jane said.

"Ah, well you should know most stores will deliver even on Christmas Eve Night," Ginny said. "So where should we go ﬁrst?"

"I need to exchange some money to use here," Jane said as she watched Ginny open the way to Diagon Alley. Christmas spirit seemed to have overwhelmed the place. Every store had holly wreaths and garland lining the windows. The glass sparkled like icicles. Besides the familiar smells, peppermint now ﬁlled the small space as signs outside the doors of stores advertised Holiday sales. The only shop that did not seem to be joining in the festivities was Olivander's as it looked untouched.

"I guess he doesn't have Holiday commodities," Dudley murmured as they passed.

"Besides wands, all he sells is wand care, so no not really," Ginny replied.

Soon the trio walked up the great marble stairs of Gringotts and passed through the doors. The halls of the bank quelled the outside noise. No one seemed to dare speak in loud voices. Only low whispers and clinking of gold could be heard. The three took their place in one queue.

"I need to exchange some money myself," Dudley said as he left Ginny and Jane for another line. Jane's line moved quickly and soon she stood before the counter.

"Um, I'd like to exchange … £90 please," Jane said as she put out the money. The goblin looked at the money brieﬂy before turning to a cash register and inserted the money.

"You will receive 18 Galleons," the goblin said in a deep cold voice, retrieving the amount and putting it before Jane.

"Thank you," Jane said as she put the money into a purse that had what remained from her previous stash of Wizarding money. The gold jingled against a silver sickle and a few knuts. The goblin nodded and Ginny and Jane moved out of the way so another could be served. They saw Dudley near the entrance waiting patiently.

"Got enough?" Dudley asked, smiling at his daughter.

"I hope so," Jane said.

"So which store were you planning on going to ﬁrst?" Dudley asked as they exited into the Alley.

"The Magical Menagerie," Jane said, "I was hoping to get Michael a rat to take with him to Smeltings." Dudley had a thoughtful look on his face.

"If you also get him a proper carrier for it, that should be permissible," Dudley said.

"Great," Jane said as she led the way to the shop. Caws from ravens, hoots from owls, and yowls from cats ﬁlled room. But Jane paid none of them any mind as she walked to the front desk which had a large cage with sleek black rats inside on it. A young wizard wearing purple robes and a red apron stood attentively.

"Afternoon, how may I serve you?" he asked.

"What can you tell me about these rats?" Jane asked politely. The sleek black rodents' ears perked up at their mention and put more effort into the tricks they were preforming. A glimmer appeared in the man's eyes as he took a breath.

"Well, like most magically augmented animals, their coats keep cleaner than most ordinary rats. Their teeth don't grow as fast so their don't need to gnaw as much either. And they are more than capable of following simple orders and desires. Watch," the man pitched. He reached into the cave. "Now, the smallest one please climb up my arm and stop on top the cage." The rats glanced at each other and one squeaked before running onto the man's arm and stopping where asked. Jane smiled at the show.

"Can one be tended to by a Muggle?" Dudley asked. The salesman looked at Dudley.

"Certainly," he answered, "They do not lose their abilities simply by being raised by a Muggle."

"Then I would like to buy one and a cage for it to live in," Jane said. The rats' ears dropped slightly. The glimmer in his eyes was gone.

"A cage is not needed as these rats won't run off young lady," the salesman said.

"That maybe but for appearance's sake one will be needed for the sake of others," Dudley injected. The salesman nodded slowly and walked into the back to ﬁnd a spare cage as the rat on top of the cage looked at Jane. It certainly looked smaller than the others in the cage. The brown eyes twinkled in the light of the place. The salesman returned with a cage.

"Have you made a selection yet?" the salesman asked.

"I would like this one please," Jane said, pointing to the smallest rat. Its ears perked up and it squeaked.

"Very well. She is a young one and still growing," the man said.

"Is it possible for you to hold her and deliver her on Christmas Eve?" Jane asked. The man nodded.

"That would be an additional sickle on the original charge of 1 galleon for the rat and cage," he replied. Jane paid the amount and the man handed her a piece of parchment which asked for name of recipient and address. Jane ﬁlled out the information and gave it back to the man as he gave her her change. Smiling, Jane turned to her father and Ginny. They departed the store.

"So where to next?" Ginny asked.

"I was hoping to get mum and dad's presents now," Jane said.

"Then I will go look around for something to get you," Dudley said, looking at Ginny. "Thank you for this."

"It's not needed. Let's meet at the Leaky Cauldron," Ginny said as Dudley nodded and walked off. She looked at Jane. "All right, what do you plan on getting him?"

"I saw Harry use a watch with planets and not numbers on the face," Jane said, "So is there a jewelry store which sells that?"

"Do you want Wizard or Goblin quality?" Ginny asked as she led Jane.

"What's the difference?" Jane asked.

"Goblin-made is far superior but goblin's don't see the item as bought so much as rented until the owner dies," Ginny said, "Even with the advancements in relations between us, that much has not changed."

"Then Wizard-made," Jane said as Ginny took her down one side street. On the corner was one man selling the Daily Prophet. Jane caught the headline as they passed.

WILLIAM'S BOY RETURNED TO FAMILY! UNKNOWN IF BITTEN!

"Ginny, who was the headline referring to?" Jane asked, looking up at her cousin.

"A young boy who was kidnapped by some werewolves last month," Ginny said.

"Werewolves are bad guys?" Jane repeated, "Why did they take him?"

"It's not werewolves in general. Just this pack. They follow the ideals of an evil man named Fernir Greyback. They kidnap young witches and wizards and turn them against their family," Ginny said darkly, "Harry and other Aurors just found him yesterday but the leader, Conan Greyback, and some of his followers escaped." Ginny took a breath. "Now enough of this. We're here." Jane blinked and looked at the shop before them. The shop was named "Magnus and Adela's Timepieces and Jewelery." Ginny opened the door and let Jane in. The store seemed to be split down the middle. To the right were rings, bracelets, necklaces, and earrings. To the left were clocks and watches of various sizes and styles. A head was a lone desk with an elderly wizard with a short white beard watching his customers attentively. He spoke as Jane and Ginny came midway into the room.

"Good day. My name is Magnus. How may I serve you?" he asked.

"I was hoping to get a watch for my father," Jane said as she looked over to the watch counter. She looked at the many designs. While most every watch had the same planets and moons, the outsides had varying intricate designs. Jane's eyes passed over many. She came to a small watch with a fob designed like a snake and the loop was replaced with a snake head. Magnus came to the other side of the counter and looked at which watch Jane was examining.

"You have made a nice choice," Magnus said, "This design isn't as popular as it once was but a few old families like to buy it now and then."

"I can imagine," Ginny said, "How much?"

"It's ﬁfteen Galleons," Magnus said. Jane turned to her gaze to one with a ruby coloured face and an emerald-coloured chain.

"May I see the back of this one?" Jane asked. Reaching in, Magnus pulled out the second one Jane was interested in. A rose was engraved on the back. "I'd like this one."

"It is ten Galleons," Magnus said.

"I think I'd like it," Jane said, "I'm also interested in some earrings." Magnus smiled and nodded. He wrapped the watch in a cloth and went around the perimeter to meet Jane and Ginny as they were looking at the earring selection.

The selection of earrings was even more vast than the watches. Jane looked carefully over the uncountable number of long ones, short ones, stubs, loops, hoops, gilded ones, some with gems in them and others without.

"Oh," Jane said as she saw a pair of ruby stubs on what looked like silver. "Those look nice." Magnus pulled out the selection.

"Do these interest you Miss?" Magnus asked. Jane nodded. "They are six Galleons."

"If you don't mind me asking, who crafted these and the watch?" Ginny asked.

"We craft and set the jewelry and timepieces here," Magnus said, looking at Ginny.

"No goblin assistance?" Ginny asked.

"No ma'am," Magnus said ﬁrmly.

"Just making sure," Ginny said. Magnus nodded.

"Will those be everything?" Magnus said, smiling calmly. Jane nodded and handed over the money. Magnus set the watch in a box and in another box set the earrings. "Would you like them wrapped?"

"Yes please," Jane said. Magnus took out his wand and waved it. Paper ﬂoated over and wrapped itself on the two boxes before two white ribbons appeared. He put the gifts in a bag and handed it to Jane.

"Have a nice day," Magnus said. Jane nodded and left with Ginny.

"Is that everything?" Jane nodded again.

"I cannot wait to see the look on mum and dad's faces when they open these," Jane said.

"I imagine they will be very surprised," Ginny said as they walked back to the Leaky Cauldron. Back in the bar room, Dudley was sitting and waiting.

"Got everything?" Dudley asked.

"Yeah." Jane turned to Ginny and hugged her. "Thanks for the help today."

"You're welcome." Jane broke away and went near her father. There was no package of any size or sort near him. The pair walked back into the Muggle world.

"So what did you get me?" Jane asked as she got into the car.

"You'll have to wait until Christmas Day," Dudley said as he started the car up and drove home.

Chapter 11

Giddy was the atmosphere of the Dursley home. From the excitement of what Jane and Michael purchased for their parents to Jane seeing the early sonograms of her baby sibling for the ﬁrst time, life was well in the house. And as happiness and sweet dreams ﬁlled the head of two children, Dudley and Emily kept vigil in the living room, sipping hot chocolate with little marshmallows in it.

"Hmm, the little one likes chocolate," Emily said as they kept an eye out the window.

"Just like Jane and Michael," Dudley said, chuckling, "How many boxes of chocolate did we buy that one time so you could coat the fruits with them?" Emily shook her head.

"Thank goodness I had to walk so much to get both to sleep to work off those days," Emily said. She smiled as some ﬁgures appeared outside the door to the backyard. Dudley got up and opened it. Four owls looked up at him before ﬂying off. He smiled as he picked up Jane's and Michael's gifts and walked over to the tree. Inside a cube, Dudley could hear the soft breathing of the little rat for Michael. He set it down next to the small parcels labeled for him and Emily.

"No, Jane's to the closet. That's to be a surprise," Emily ordered. Dudley nodded and put it there.

"Tomorrow will be a really nice day," Dudley said as he helped his wife up and they retreated to bed.

A soft snowfall came to coat the world as cinnamon ﬁlled the air one particular morning. Mercury's soft hoots nudged Jane to the waking mind.

"It's Christmas!" she squealed. Mercury looked at her and simply hooted before playing at the ﬂying at the window and tapping. Jane nodded and rose, dressing in her sleeping robe and opened the window. She shivered and left the window ajar so Mercury could come back. She stepped out into the hallway and saw her brother coming out of his room. They exchanged glances before racing to the steps and going downstairs.

In the living room, they smiled at the sight of their parents waiting for them.

"8 am. I was thinking you two were going to sleep forever," Emily said as she sipped some more hot cocoa.

"Cinnamon buns are ready for those who want it," Dudley said from the kitchen. Michael and Jane smiled as they picked up a roll and cup before rejoining their parents in the living room. Emily surveyed the tree as the children sat on the ﬂoor.

"It looks like Father Christmas was light this year," Emily noted. Dudley nodded.

"Let's see what was delivered," Dudley said as he moved the tree. "This is for Michael." He pushed Jane's gift to him. "This is for Jane." He pushed a box to Jane. He picked up the two small gifts for his wife and him. He moved back to his wife and gave her the box.

"So, this is what you got at Diagon Alley?" Emily asked.

"You two ﬁrst kids," Dudley said as he pulled out a camera. Jane and Michael looked at each other. They did a quick round of rock-paper-scissors and Jane smiled as she opened her present. Inside, covered in old newspapers, were a pair of gloves. They were not new and she knew that. They were worn in some parts but they were still functional.

"Your gloves," Jane said as she pulled out the pair of boxing gloves.

"My old pair," Michael said, "This way you can practice properly and not just shadow box." Jane smiled and hugged Michael. He blushed a little before turning his eyes at his. He could feel the metal beneath the manila paper. Starting at the top, he opened his gift and saw the small rat sleeping still.

"She's one of the rats from Diagon Alley," Jane explained, "I ﬁgured you could have a pet at Smeltings." Michael turned to his father, his eyes wide.

"Perfect," Dudley whispered as he got the look of shock. Looking past the camera, Dudley nodded. "I contacted the head of your dorm and got you permission." Michael gasped out disbelief.

"What's her name?" Michael asked. The little rat was waking up from the noise and looked around her cage.

"She doesn't have one," Jane said as the little rat crawled to the edge of the cage and smelled Michael's food. She let out a little squeak. Michael smiled down at his little pet.

"Well, I think I'll call her Maeve," Michael said. The newly christened "Maeve" tilted her head and returned to the food. Opening the front of the cage, she climbed out and walked to the food but stopped. "You may have some." The little rat smiled and took a bit of the roll and backed away.

"Now, open yours," Jane said, looking to her parents.

"Dad, the camera," Michael said as he stood up. Dudley nodded and handed it over as Emily started opening her gift.

"A rose-colored box. How thoughtful," Emily joked before opening it. Michael's hand clicked quickly as Emily breathed in from the sight of the rubies on the earrings. Shock turned to horror. "How-How-How much?" she breathed out, looking at Jane.

"Uh, six galleons, so about thirty pounds," Jane said.

"We chipped in together to get them," Michael said.

"Do you not like them?" Jane asked.

"No . . . . I'm just shocked. They would have to cost so little," Emily said.

"Ginny assured me they were good quality," Jane replied as Dudley looked at his with mild apprehension.

"So, what did you get me?" Dudley asked. Jane smiled.

"You got to ﬁnd out," Michael said as he reached forward and stroked Maeve. Dudley nodded and opened his. He saw a similar box to his wife's and opened it. The fob started at him, ticking away. Dudley smiled and looked at his timepiece.

"Brilliant work." He smiled at his children. "Thank you children."

"Advantages of magic," Emily said before looking at their children. "Now time for our gifts to you." Dudley rose and walked to the closet. From it, he pulled two things: one wide and tall and the other was thin and shorter. Michael and Jane watched as the larger one was set before Michael and the thin one before Jane.

"These are from us, and both grandparents," Dudley said.

"Yes!" Michael said as he discovered a heavy bag inside.

"Oh wow!" Jane yelled as she discovered a broomstick. The wooden handle was a dark wood, engraved with gold letters was the name "Nimbus 2020."

"Besides getting Maeve permission, since you joined the boxing club this year, we got you permission to have this in your dormitory as well," Dudley said to his son.

"And that is a model a few years older than the most recent one but Harry did say it would be a good one for you to use to practice ﬂying," Emily said to her daughter.

"Oh thank you mum! Thank you dad!" Jane yelled.

"This is really great!" Michael added.

"Now get dressed, the both of you," Dudley said, "We're heading to my parents in a short time then we'll be picked up by Harry for dinner at his home."

"We aren't visiting your parents mum?" Michael asked.

"They went to see your Aunt Annie and her family in New York City," Emily said. "They're having a wonderful time too."

"All right," Jane said, before getting up and going upstairs with Michael to get dressed.

"Thanks again," Michael said as he carried Maeve up with him in his hand.

"Welcome," Jane replied.

Number Four Privet did not seem that different from when Jane was last there. The chilly winter air nipped at her and her brother as they walked up to the door. Dudley knocked and waited. A minute later Petunia opened the door smiling.

"Come in," she said gently, "You're just in time."

"Thanks mum," Dudley said as they entered into the small house. After removing their coats the scent of cookies and other foods surrounded them as Petunia returned to the kitchen. They moved into the living room where Jane took a long look at her grandfather.

Vernon Dursley was not the blimp she had known for so much of her young life. He had lost weight to the point he looked like an older Dudley, though not as muscular. His mustache remained unchained. His face was sunken slightly but when he saw his grandchildren, a small smile was just like the one she had known for many years.

"Grandpa!" Jane said as she walked to him. Vernon slowly rose from his chair. He gave her a light hug before giving Michael a stronger one.

"It's good to see you," he said. "How were your presents?" Jane and Michael smiled before talking about their gifts, sitting on the couch.

"Thank you for helping my parents get my broomstick," Jane said as she looked at what seemed to be a ﬁxed smile on his face.

"And my boxing equipment," Michael said.

"Well, we only gave your parents the money. It was them to choose what to pick," Vernon said. "Michael, would you be kind and hand me one of those cookies?" Michael looked at the tray of cookies on the coffee table. Michael nodded and picked up the tray and brought it over to his grandfather.

"They smell wonderful," Jane said.

"What kind are they?" Michael asked.

"Cinnamon-Ginger cookies," Vernon said.

"They're part of our new diet regimen," came Petunia's voice as she carried in a tray of sandwiches. "The doctors were insistent on him losing weight to take stress off his heart." Dudley followed with a pot of tea and Emily carried some cups.

"Another rabbit diet," Vernon muttered. Dudley smiled knowingly.

"It's good for you Vernon," Emily noted.

"At least the cookies are tasty," Vernon replied before taking a bite of the treat.

"These are really good grandma," Jane said as she smiled at her.

"Thank you," Petunia said. She took one herself.

Chatter ﬁlled the room as Petunia asked how Emily was, Vernon wanting information on Grunnings, how schooling was, and other things. Whenever Hogwarts or magic came up, Vernon either tried to change the subject or chose not to speak at all. It was a happy three hours.

In time,Dudley and his family had to depart. Parting hugs were given and Petunia escorted the guests to the door. Michael helped his mother to the car as Dudley helped Jane with her scarf.

"Dudley," Petunia said softly. Dudley turned to his mother. She went to the cupboard under the stairs and pulled out a small paper-wrapped package. "When you said you were going over there, I went looking. Please give these to him." Dudley looked at the package and nodded before leaving. Dudley nodded and went back to the car.

"That was enjoyable," Emily said as Dudley got into the car.

"Better than I expected," Dudley agreed, setting the package between the seats. "Something for Harry from my mother." Emily nodded as they drove home as the sun was getting close to setting.

Not ten minutes after arriving, a crack came outside the house followed by a knock. Dudley walked to the door and smiled at Harry.

"Big D," Harry said. "You're hooked up again." Dudley looked at his cousin's face and nodded. It had a dour sense about it Dudley hadn't seen since he used to beat him up.

"Thanks for this," Dudley said.

"It's no trouble. We only have a few minutes before they close it up," Harry said as he walked to the warm ﬁreplace.

"Harry," Emily said as she held a bag in her hands.

"Emily, you are looking well." She nodded and noticed his shirt.

"Is that a dragon?" Harry glanced down and pulled open his cloak revealing a knit sweater with a dragon upon it.

"Ginny's mother's usual gift," Harry explained as Jane and Michael took a glance at it. "She makes them for the family." He turned and pulled out a bag of Floo Powder.

A quick trip to Harry's home where the smell of a lavish meal was waiting for them. Ginny was there to help catch Emily as she came out of it before the family moved to the living room where the other children waited, each wearing a sweater like Harry's.

"Master Harry," croaked Kreacher, "Dinner will be ready in an hour." He reached up

"Thanks Kreacher," Harry said, pulling off his cloak, giving it to Kreacher and sat down.

"So, how are you feeling Emily?" Ginny asked.

"Oh, remembering old pains is fun," Emily said, "Feet being bigger. The cravings."

"The bathroom stops in the early hours of the morning," Dudley added. Harry chuckled lightly at that while glancing at Ginny.

"But it's all worth it," Emily concluded. Dudley nodded.

"All right, before you head out back to play we have gifts for you," Ginny said.

"And we have some for you. Unfortunately we didn't know what your children would like to have," Dudley said. Emily reached in and pulled out brightly wrapped box and handed it to Ginny. "So, this is for all of you." And a cylinder. Ginny nodded and pulled out her wand and summoned some wrapped packages and a box. Each Dursley received one package and the box to Emily. Unwrapping them revealed red and gold colored knit hats. The box contained crystallized pineapple.

"Oh, thank you," Emily said, smiling at the box. James, Albus and Lily opened the box as Ginny opened the cylinder. The box was of Swiss Chocolates and the bottle was of a thirty year-old Bordeaux.

"I've wondered how Muggle wine tastes. Thank you," Ginny said.

"Harry, there's something else," Dudley said as he pulled his mother's package from his coat. "This is from my mother." Harry blinked and reached for the package.

"Socks?" he muttered before opening the package. It wasn't socks. Inside was something else. Pulling the last of the paper away,Harry's eyes went wide in shock. "Oh wow."

"Harry?" Ginny asked, looking down. Before her was two girls smiling at her. It was hard to tell the hair color because they were faded slightly but one was a dark red head and the other was older and blonde. They were in a park and covered in dirt. Ginny focused on the red head's eyes. They were Harry's eyes.

Moving through the other photos revealed similar situations. A young Lily and Petunia at home. In their Sunday best. Being hugged and kissed by two people Harry rarely ever saw before, his mother's parents. The photos were passed around to his children and then the Dursleys.

"That was unexpected," Harry said in a low whispered. "Where did she ﬁnd them?"

"She didn't say. She must have kept them someplace Dad didn't know about. Maybe in a bank box." Harry nodded as the photos were returned to him.

"I think this was the best gift I ever received from Aunt Petunia," Harry said, looking at his cousin. "Dudley, come with me. I want to show you something." He rose and Dudley followed as his children got ready to move outside to play in the snow.

"Remember, do not leave the yard," Ginny said ﬁrmly.

"Why not?" Michael asked.

"Because of some threats Harry received from a person he's chasing. The house is protected but not if you go outside," Ginny replied. Emily's eyes narrowed.

"But we're safe here?" Ginny nodded.

"We wouldn't have had you over if we thought otherwise," Ginny said.

"Don't worry mum. we'll be careful," James said as he got on his clothes.

In the ofﬁce, Harry pulled out an old album. It had known many years and a few spills but it and the photos inside were in excellent condition. Dudley looked through it and the image of the aunt he never knew.

"She was beautiful," Dudley said, before looking at Harry. "So, what's troubling you?" Harry sighed.

"Work. This werewolf is causing us a lot of trouble. He's kidnapped three children since September. Two were returned bitten and the third we found unbitten because the moon wasn't until tonight." Harry explained. He slammed his ﬁst on the desk.

"That's horrible," Dudley said softly. Harry shook his head.

"The worst part I didn't mention. We have no idea how the children were grabbed. They were snatched from their homes in the middle of the night and their memories were erased of the events about how it happened."

"You can erase memories?" Dudley asked Harry nodded.

"Yes. When done correctly you don't even know it was missing," Harry said. "We got lucky with the Sean William because they used magic around him and the trace popped up in the middle of Ceredigion where there aren't any registered children but when we got to him the damn Conan escaped with a lot of his people. Those we caught knew nothing or aren't talking."

"We've got to grab him. His actions are hurting the good Hermione's done making people trust werewolves. Over ten years worth of work attacking old stereotypes and prejudice views gone because of Conan!" Harry punched the wood desk again.

Outside, the atmosphere was nicer as snowballs ﬂew at each.

"Wow," Lily said as Jane told her about her gifts. Jane nodded.

"I know," she said as she ducked but her new hat was struck by one of James' shots. She was hit in the face by her brother right after. "Michael!" Michael laughed.

"You should look more and talk less," he said as he threw one at Lily. Jane turned around. Her hat was by the bushes and walked over to them, which seemed strange but she didn't put too much thought to it. As she got close, she noticed a strange impression in the ground. It looked like feet but tiny feet. She felt something grab her arm. All went black as her body felt everywhere at once before being contorted and compressed. She wanted to scream, to call for help but her lungs didn't seem to function as the sensation got worse as she endured it.

After what seemed like forever, she was free, back in the light of the afternoon sun. She looked up to see a tall man in a black and silver cloak smiling at her.

"Miss Potter, so glad to see you this Christmas Day," he said before saying "Stupefy." Jane's world went dark once more.


End file.
